WO2025091435A1 - Communication methods, apparatus, device, chip and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided in the embodiments of the present application are communication methods. A method comprises: acquiring a first timing advance (TA) between a terminal device and a first cell, wherein the first TA is used for the terminal device to implement uplink synchronization with the first cell, the first cell being a secondary cell without synchronization signal block transmission. The method specifies how to perform synchronization between a terminal device and a secondary cell without synchronization signal block transmission.

Description

A communication method, device, equipment, chip and storage medium Technical Field

The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication technology, and specifically to a communication method, apparatus, device, chip and storage medium.

Background Art

An SSB-less cell is a cell that does not send a synchronization signal block (SSB), or in other words, a cell without SSB transmission. Currently, when an SSB-less cell is an SSB-less secondary cell (SCell), it is not clear how a terminal device communicates with the SSB-less secondary cell.

Summary of the invention

Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, apparatus, device, chip, and storage medium.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method applied to a terminal device, the method comprising: obtaining a first timing advance TA between the terminal device and a first cell, the first TA being used for the terminal device to perform uplink synchronization with the first cell; wherein the first cell is a secondary cell without synchronization signal block transmission.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a network device, the method comprising: sending fourth indication information to a terminal device, the fourth indication information comprising a first timing advance TA between the terminal device and a first cell, and/or a second TA between the terminal device and a second cell, the second cell being a cell used for the terminal device to perform uplink synchronization with the first cell, the second TA being used to determine the first TA, and the first TA being used for the terminal device to perform uplink synchronization with the first cell; wherein the first cell is a secondary cell without synchronization signal block transmission.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, applied to a terminal device, the method comprising: receiving a reference signal of a second cell or a downlink data signal of a first cell, the reference signal or the downlink data signal being used for the terminal device to perform downlink synchronization or downlink timing with the first cell; wherein the second cell is a cell used for the terminal device to perform downlink synchronization or downlink timing with the first cell, and the first cell is a secondary cell without synchronization signal block transmission.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, applied to a network device, the method comprising: sending a reference signal of a second cell or a downlink data signal of a first cell to a terminal device, the reference signal or the downlink data signal being used for the terminal device to perform downlink synchronization or downlink timing with the first cell; wherein the second cell is a cell used for the terminal device to perform downlink synchronization or downlink timing with the first cell, and the first cell is a secondary cell without synchronization signal block transmission.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, applied to a terminal device, the method comprising: receiving a first media access control control unit MAC CE from a network device, the first MAC CE being used to indicate a reporting method of a first CSI report with a sub-reporting configuration.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, applied to a network device, the method comprising: sending a first media access control control unit MAC CE to a terminal device, the first MAC CE being used to indicate a reporting method of a first CSI report with a sub-reporting configuration.

In the seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, applied to a terminal device, the method comprising: receiving fifth indication information from a network device; wherein the fifth indication information is used to indicate a first operation; or, the fifth indication information is used to indicate the first operation when a third condition is met; the first operation comprises at least one of the following: a source cell of the terminal device enters a network energy saving NES; the terminal device executes or starts to execute a conditional switching CHO; and the terminal device evaluates the execution conditions of the CHO.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, applied to a network device, the method comprising: sending a fifth indication information to a terminal device; wherein the fifth indication information is used to indicate a first operation; or, the fifth indication information is used to indicate the first operation when a third condition is met; the first operation comprises at least one of the following: a source cell of the terminal device enters a network energy saving NES; the terminal device executes a conditional switching CHO; the terminal device starts to execute CHO; and the terminal device evaluates the execution conditions of CHO.

In the ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes: a first acquisition unit, configured to acquire a first timing advance TA between the device and a first cell, the first TA being used for the device to perform uplink synchronization with the first cell; wherein the first cell is a secondary cell without synchronization signal block transmission.

In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, the device comprising: a first sending unit, configured to send a first signal to a terminal device; The fourth indication information is prepared to be sent, the fourth indication information includes a first timing advance TA between the terminal device and the first cell, and/or a second TA between the terminal device and the second cell, the second cell is a cell used for the terminal device to perform uplink synchronization with the first cell; the second TA is used to determine the first TA, and the first TA is used for the terminal device to perform uplink synchronization with the first cell; wherein the first cell is a secondary cell without synchronization signal block transmission.

In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes: a first receiving unit, configured to receive a reference signal of a second cell or a downlink data signal of a first cell, the reference signal or the downlink data signal is used for the device to perform downlink synchronization or downlink timing with the first cell; wherein the second cell is a cell used for the device to perform downlink synchronization or downlink timing with the first cell, and the first cell is a secondary cell without synchronization signal block transmission.

In the twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes: a second sending unit, configured to send a reference signal of a second cell or a downlink data signal of a first cell to a terminal device, the reference signal or the downlink data signal is used for the terminal device to perform downlink synchronization or downlink timing with the first cell; wherein the second cell is a cell used for the terminal device to perform downlink synchronization or downlink timing with the first cell, and the first cell is a secondary cell without synchronization signal block transmission.

In the thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes: a second receiving unit, configured to receive a first media access control control unit MAC CE from a network device, the first MAC CE being used to indicate a reporting method of a first SCI report with a sub-configuration.

In the fourteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes: a third sending unit, configured to send a first media access control control unit MAC CE to a terminal device, the first MAC CE being used to indicate a reporting method of a first SCI report with a sub-configuration.

In the fifteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes: a third receiving unit, configured to receive fifth indication information from a network device; wherein the fifth indication information is used to indicate a first operation; or, the fifth indication information is used to indicate the first operation when a first condition is met; the first operation includes at least one of the following: a source cell of the device enters a network energy saving NES; the device executes or starts to execute a conditional switching CHO; and the device evaluates the execution conditions of CHO.

In the sixteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising: a fourth sending unit, configured to send fifth indication information to a terminal device; wherein the fifth indication information is used to indicate a first operation; or, the fifth indication information is used to indicate the first operation when a first condition is met; the first operation includes at least one of the following: a source cell of the terminal device enters the network energy saving NES; the terminal device executes or starts to execute conditional switching CHO; and the terminal device evaluates the execution conditions of CHO.

In the seventeenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes a memory and a processor; wherein the memory is used to store computer-executable instructions; the processor is connected to the memory, and is used to implement the method described in any one of the first to eighth aspects by executing the computer-executable instructions.

In an eighteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip, which includes: a processor, configured to call and run a computer program from a memory, so that a device equipped with the chip executes the method described in any one of the first to eighth aspects.

In the nineteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program. When the computer program is executed by at least one processor, it implements the method described in any one of the first to eighth aspects.

A communication method, apparatus, chip, device and storage medium provided in the embodiments of the present application clarify how to synchronize or time a terminal device with a secondary cell without SSB transmission.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are used to provide a further understanding of the present application and constitute a part of the present application. The illustrative embodiments of the present application and their descriptions are used to explain the present application and do not constitute an improper limitation on the present application. In the drawings:

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario of an embodiment of the present application;

FIG2 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG3 is a second flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG4 is a third flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG5 is a fourth flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG6 is a first structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG7 is a second structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG8 is a third structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG9 is a fourth structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG10 is a fifth structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG11 is a sixth structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG12 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG13 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG14 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG15 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG16 is a schematic block diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following will describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario of an embodiment of the present application.

As shown in Fig. 1, the communication system 100 may include a terminal device 110 and a network device 120. The network device 120 may communicate with the terminal device 110 via an air interface. The terminal device 110 and the network device 120 support multi-service transmission.

It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application are only exemplified by the communication system 100, but the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. That is to say, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Internet of Things (IoT) system, Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) system, enhanced Machine-Type Communications (eMTC) system, 5G communication system (also known as New Radio (NR) communication system), B5G communication system, 6G communication system, or future communication system.

In the communication system 100 shown in Fig. 1, the network device 120 may be an access network device that communicates with the terminal device 110. The access network device may provide communication coverage for a specific geographical area, and may communicate with the terminal device 110 (eg, UE) located in the coverage area.

The network device 120 can be an evolved base station (Evolutional Node B, eNB or eNodeB) in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, or a Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG RAN) device, or a base station (gNB) in an NR system, or a wireless controller in a Cloud Radio Access Network (CRAN), or the network device 120 can be a relay station, an access point, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a hub, a switch, a bridge, a router, or a network device in a future evolved Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), etc.

The terminal device 110 may be any terminal device, including but not limited to a terminal device connected to the network device 120 or other terminal devices by wire or wireless connection.

For example, the terminal device 110 may refer to an access terminal, a user equipment (UE), a user unit, a user station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user device. The access terminal may be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, an IoT device, a satellite handheld terminal, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a 5G network, or a terminal device in a future evolution network, etc.

The terminal device 110 can be used for device to device (Device to Device, D2D) communication.

The wireless communication system 100 may further include a core network device 130 for communicating with the network device 120. The core network device 130 may be a 5G core network (5G Core, 5GC) device, such as an access and mobility management function (Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF), and another example, an authentication server function (Authentication Server Function, AUSF), and another example, a user plane function (User Plane Function, UPF), and another example, a session management function (Session Management Function, SMF). In some embodiments, the core network device 130 may also be an evolved packet core (Evolved Packet Core, EPC) device of the LTE network, such as a session management function + core network data gateway (Session Management Function+Core Packet Gateway, SMF+PGW-C) device. It should be understood that SMF+PGW-C can simultaneously implement the functions that SMF and PGW-C can implement. During the network evolution process, the above-mentioned core network equipment may also be called other names, or new network entities may be formed by dividing the functions of the core network, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

The various functional units in the communication system 100 can also establish connections and achieve communication through the next generation network (NG) interface.

For example, the terminal device establishes an air interface connection with the access network device through the NR interface for transmitting user plane data and control plane signaling; the terminal device can establish a control plane signaling connection with the AMF through the NG interface 1 (referred to as N1); the access network device, such as the next generation wireless access base station (gNB), can establish a user plane data connection with the UPF through the NG interface 3 (referred to as N3); the access network device can establish a control plane signaling connection with the AMF through the NG interface 1 (referred to as N1); the access network device, such as the next generation wireless access base station (gNB), can establish a user plane data connection with the UPF through the NG interface 3 (referred to as N3); Interface 2 (N2 for short) establishes a control plane signaling connection with AMF; UPF can establish a control plane signaling connection with SMF through NG interface 4 (N4 for short); UPF can exchange user plane data with the data network through NG interface 6 (N6 for short); AMF can establish a control plane signaling connection with SMF through NG interface 11 (N11 for short); SMF can establish a control plane signaling connection with PCF through NG interface 7 (N7 for short).

FIG1 exemplarily shows a network device, a core network device and two terminal devices. Optionally, the wireless communication system 100 may include multiple network devices and each network device may include other number of terminal devices within its coverage area, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

It should be noted that FIG. 1 is only an example of the system to which the present application is applicable. Of course, the method shown in the embodiment of the present application can also be applied to other systems. In addition, the terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably in this article. The term "and/or" in this article is only a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and/or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character "/" in this article generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. It should also be understood that the "indication" mentioned in the embodiment of the present application can be a direct indication, an indirect indication, or an indication of an association relationship. For example, A indicates B, which can mean that A directly indicates B, for example, B can be obtained through A; it can also mean that A indirectly indicates B, for example, A indicates C, B can be obtained through C; it can also mean that A and B have an association relationship. It should also be understood that the "correspondence" mentioned in the embodiment of the present application can mean that there is a direct or indirect correspondence relationship between the two, or it can mean that there is an association relationship between the two, or it can mean that there is an indication and being indicated, configuration and being configured, etc. It should also be understood that the "predefined" or "predefined rules" mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by pre-saving corresponding codes, tables or other methods that can be used to indicate relevant information in devices (for example, including terminal devices and network devices), and the present application does not limit its specific implementation method. For example, predefined may refer to the definition in the protocol. It should also be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the "protocol" may refer to a standard protocol in the field of communications, such as LTE protocols, NR protocols, and related protocols used in future communication systems, and the present application does not limit this.

To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the relevant technologies of the embodiments of the present application are described below. The following related technologies can be arbitrarily combined with the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application as optional solutions, and they all belong to the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application.

1. Main application scenarios of 5G

As people pursue higher speed, latency, high-speed mobility, energy efficiency, and the diversity and complexity of services in future life, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) international standard organization has begun to develop 5G. The main application scenarios of 5G are: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC), and massive machine-type communications (mMTC).

On the one hand, eMBB still aims at enabling users to obtain multimedia content, services and data, and its demand is growing rapidly. On the other hand, since eMBB may be deployed in different scenarios, such as indoors, in urban areas, and in rural areas, its capabilities and requirements vary greatly, so it cannot be generalized and must be analyzed in detail in combination with specific deployment scenarios. Typical applications of URLLC include: industrial automation, power automation, remote medical operations (surgery), traffic safety assurance, etc. Typical features of mMTC include: high connection density, small data volume, latency-insensitive services, low cost of modules and long service life, etc.

2. Radio Resource Control (RRC) Status in 5G Network Environment

NR can be deployed independently. In order to reduce air interface signaling, quickly restore wireless connections and quickly restore data services in the 5G network environment, a new RRC state is defined, namely the RRC inactive (RRC_INACTIVE) state. This state is different from the RRC idle (RRC_IDLE) state and the RRC active (RRC_ACTIVE) state. The following describes the three RRC states in the 5G network environment:

1) RRC_IDLE state: Mobility is based on UE cell selection and reselection, paging is initiated by the core network (CN), and the paging area is configured by the CN. There is no UE access stratum (AS) context on the base station side, and there is no RRC connection.

2)RRC_CONNECTED state: There is an RRC connection, and the base station and the UE have a UE AS context. The network knows the location of the UE at the specific cell level. The mobility is controlled by the network. Unicast data can be transmitted between the UE and the base station.

3)RRC_INACTIVE state: Mobility is based on UE cell selection and reselection, there is a connection between CN-NR, the UE AS context exists on a base station, paging is triggered by the Radio Access Network (RAN), and the RAN-based paging area is managed by the RAN. The network side knows the UE's location based on the RAN paging area level.

3. Network energy-saving project.

Energy consumption has become an important part of operators' operating costs. According to reports, the energy cost of mobile networks accounts for about 23% of operators' total costs. Most of the energy consumption comes from the radio access network, especially the active antenna unit (AAU), while data centers and fiber optic transmission account for only a small share. Power consumption includes two types:

1) Dynamic part: such as consumption during data transmission/reception

2) Static part: such as the consumption to maintain the operation of necessary wireless access equipment, even when there is no continuous data transmission/reception.

The study should not only evaluate the potential network energy consumption benefits, but also evaluate and balance the impact on network and user performance. For example, the study should not have a particularly large impact on some key performance indicators (KPIs), such as: spectrum efficiency, capacity, user perceived throughput (User Packet Throughput, UPT), latency, UE power consumption, complexity, handover performance, call drop rate, initial access performance, etc.

4. SSB-less cells

Currently, SCell can be a cell that does not send SSB. This cell and special cell (SpCell) or other SCell are intra-band cells. As an SSB-less SCell, the UE synchronizes with it, and currently synchronizes with SpCell or other SCell.

In the network energy saving project, we consider extending the intra-band scenario to the inter-band scenario, that is, the SSB-less SCell is an inter-band cell with the primary cell (PCell) or other SCells. Possible scenarios are as follows:

Scenario 1: SCell has no SSB transmission but has Tracking Reference Signal (TRS) transmission.

Scenario 2a: SCell has no SSB transmission and no other downlink (DL) transmission, but has uplink (UL) reception on the network (NW) side.

Scenario 2: SCell has no SSB transmission and no TRS transmission.

Scenario 1 is supported in R18. Scenario 2a is not supported in R18 but may be supported in R19. Regarding Scenario 1, R4 has the following conclusions on how to perform DL synchronization. However, there is no conclusion for Scenario 2a. The conclusions for Scenario 1 include:

To enable SSB-less SCell operation, RAN4 agreed to introduce an indication from the NW to the UE to indicate which cell is the reference cell. If no indication is provided, RAN4 defines "by default cell" as the reference cell. Reference cell means that it is the timing reference and Automatic Gain Control (AGC) source for the SSB-less SCell. If the reference cell is a SCell or a Primary Secondary Cell (PSCell), it should be the activated SCell or the activated PSCell. RAN4 also reached an agreement on SSB-less SCell. If the UE is not provided with the SSB configuration (absoluteFrequencySSB) in the SCell (FrequencyInfoDL) and the SSB measurement timing configuration (SS/PBCH block measurement timing configuration, SMTC) for that SCell, the cell is considered to be an SSB-less SCell.

The above briefly describes the related technologies/terms involved in this application, which will not be repeated in the following embodiments.

In related technologies, an SSB-less cell can be used as an Scell or as an independently working cell. So when an SSB-less cell is an SSB-less SCell, how the terminal device works with the SSB-less SCell, such as synchronization, is a problem that needs to be solved urgently.

In view of this, the present application provides a communication method, in which a terminal device can obtain a timing advance (TA) with a first cell, and then the first TA can be used for the terminal device to perform uplink synchronization with the first cell. The first cell is a secondary cell without synchronization signal block transmission (ie, SSB-less SCell).

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, "TA" may also be replaced by "TA advance" or "UL timing synchronization". "Performing uplink synchronization" may also be replaced by "performing timing advance" or "performing UL timing".

It should also be noted that the "first TA between the terminal device and the first cell" mentioned in the embodiment of the present application can also be referred to as the "TA of the first cell"; the "second TA between the terminal device and the second cell" mentioned in the embodiment of the present application can also be referred to as the "TA of the second cell".

To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the technical solutions of the present application are described in detail below through specific embodiments. The above related technologies can be combined arbitrarily with the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application as optional solutions, and they all belong to the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application. The embodiments of the present application include at least part of the following contents.

FIG. 2 shows a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application, which may include:

S201, the terminal device obtains a first TA between the terminal device and a first cell, where the first TA is used for the terminal device to perform UL synchronization with the first cell; wherein the first cell is a secondary cell without SSB transmission.

In this embodiment, the terminal device may acquire a first TA with the first cell, and then may perform UL synchronization with the first cell based on the first TA.

As examples, several possible implementations of a terminal device acquiring the first TA are described below.

In a first possible implementation, the first TA may be included in the first indication information from the network device, wherein the first indication information is a response to the first request information, and the first request information is used to request the first TA, or in other words, the first request information is request information sent by the terminal device to the network device to request the first TA.

Exemplarily, the first indication information may be, for example, any one of the following: a random access response (Random Access Response, RAR); a timing advance command (TAC) media access control element (MAC Control Element, MAC CE); and a DL message carrying the first TA. The DL message carrying the first TA may be, for example, a DL message other than RAR and TAC MAC CE.

Exemplarily, the first request information may be, for example, any one of the following: a scheduling request (Scheduling Request, SR) (or a dedicated SR); uplink control information (Uplink Control Information, UCI) (or a dedicated UCI); UL MAC CE (which may be carried by PUSCH); UL Radio Resource Control (RRC) message (may be carried by PUSCH); UL resources of the first cell; and UL resources of the second cell. The UL resources may refer to PUSCH at a specific time-frequency position, for example.

In this embodiment, the second cell is a cell for the terminal device to perform UL synchronization with the first cell. The second cell is a cell for the terminal device to perform UL synchronization with the first cell, or it can also be understood that the TA of the second cell can be used to determine the TA of the first cell (that is, the second TA can be used to determine the first TA), or it can also be understood that the second cell is a cell with the same or similar TA as the first cell (that is, the second TA is the same or similar to the first TA).

According to the above technical solution, the terminal device can request the network device to send the first TA by sending a first request message to the network device. Thus, the network device can carry the first TA in the first indication message and send it to the terminal device based on the first request message from the terminal device.

In some embodiments, the first indication information may also carry a second TA, and the second TA may be used to determine the first TA. In this way, after receiving the first indication information from the network device, the terminal device may perform UL synchronization with the first cell based on the first TA carried in the first indication information, or may determine the first TA based on the second TA carried in the first indication information, and then perform UL synchronization with the first cell based on the determined first TA.

In some embodiments, the first indication information may carry the second TA instead of the first TA. That is, after receiving the first request information for requesting the first TA from the terminal device, the network device may carry the second TA in the first indication information and send it to the terminal device. In this case, the terminal device may determine the first TA based on the second TA carried in the first indication information, and then perform UL synchronization with the first cell based on the determined first TA.

In a second possible manner, the first TA is obtained through a random access (RA) process (for example, recorded as a first RA process); wherein the first RA process is executed by the terminal device on the first cell or the second cell.

In some embodiments, before the terminal device executes the first RA process, the method may also include: the terminal device obtains configuration information of a first reference signal, the first reference signal is a reference signal of the first cell or a reference signal of the second cell, and the first reference signal is used to execute the first RA process.

Exemplarily, the manner in which the terminal device obtains the configuration information of the first reference signal is exemplified as follows:

In one example, before the terminal device performs the first RA process, the network device may send configuration information of the first reference signal to the terminal device, and accordingly, the terminal device may receive the configuration information of the first reference signal from the network device. In another example, before the terminal device performs the first RA process, the terminal device may read the configuration information of the first reference signal from the first cell or the second cell. For example, the terminal device may read the configuration information of the reference signal of the first cell from the first cell; for another example, the terminal device may read the configuration information of the reference signal of the second cell from the second cell. In another example, before the terminal device performs the first RA process, the network device may send at least part of the configuration information of the first reference signal to the terminal device, in which case the terminal device may read the remaining at least part of the configuration information of the first reference signal from the first cell or the second cell.

Exemplarily, the type of the reference signal of the first cell may be, for example, TRS or channel state information reference signal (Channel State Information Reference Signal, CSI-RS); the type of the reference signal of the second cell may be, for example, any one of SSB, TRS, and CSI-RS.

According to the above technical solution, the terminal device may obtain the configuration information of the first reference signal, and then the terminal device may perform the first RA process on the first cell or the second cell based on the first reference signal configured by the configuration information. For example, after obtaining the configuration information of the first reference signal, the terminal device may determine the preamble and/or RO corresponding to the first reference signal, and then perform the first RA process based on the determined preamble and/or RO.

Through the first RA process, the terminal device can obtain the first TA. For example, in the first RA process, the network device can carry the first TA in the RAR and send it to the terminal device. In some embodiments, the network device can also carry the second TA in the RAR and send it to the terminal device. In this way, after receiving the RAR, the terminal device can perform UL synchronization with the first cell based on the first TA carried therein, or can determine the first TA based on the second TA carried therein, and then perform UL synchronization with the first cell based on the determined first TA. In some embodiments, the RAR can carry the second TA but not the first TA. In this way, after receiving the RAR, the terminal device can determine the first TA based on the second TA carried therein, and then perform UL synchronization with the first cell based on the determined first TA.

In some embodiments, the type of reference signal used to perform the first RA process is indicated by the network device. That is, the type of the first reference signal used by the terminal device when performing the first RA process is indicated by the network device. In other words, the network device may indicate to the terminal device which reference signal (s) to use to perform the first RA process. For example, the network device may indicate to the terminal device whether to use SSB, TRS or CSI-RS to perform the first RA process.

In a third possible implementation, the first TA is determined based on the UL data signal of the first cell. That is, the terminal device may acquire the first TA based on the UL data signal of the first cell, and then perform UL synchronization with the first cell based on the first TA.

In a fourth possible implementation manner, the first TA is determined based on a second TA between the terminal device and the second cell. For example, the terminal device may obtain the second TA, and then determine the first TA based on the obtained second TA.

In one example, the first TA is equal to the second TA, that is, the second cell has the same TA as the first cell. In this case, the terminal sets The terminal device may use the second TA as the first TA, that is, the terminal device may perform UL synchronization with the first cell based on the second TA.

In another example, the second cell has a similar TA to the first cell. In this case, the terminal device can derive the first TA based on the second TA. For example, an offset can be added/subtracted/multiplied/divided based on the second TA to obtain the first TA; for another example, the first TA is the result of a function whose input includes the second TA, such as: first TA = f(second TA).

As examples, several possible implementations of the terminal device obtaining the second TA are introduced below.

In a first possible manner, the second TA may be included in the second indication information from the network device, wherein the second indication information is a response to the second request information, and the second request information is used to request the second TA, or in other words, the second request information is request information sent by the terminal device to the network device to request the second TA.

Exemplarily, the second indication information may be, for example, any one of the following: RAR; TAC MAC CE; and, a DL message carrying the second TA. The DL message carrying the second TA may be, for example, a DL message other than RAR and TAC MAC CE.

Exemplarily, the second request information may be any one of the following: SR (or dedicated SR); UCI (or dedicated UCI); UL MAC CE (may be carried by PUSCH); UL RRC message (may be carried by PUSCH); UL resources of the first cell; and UL resources of the second cell. Among them, UL resources may refer to PUSCH at a specific time-frequency position, for example.

According to the above technical solution, the terminal device can request the network device to send a second TA by sending a second request message to the network device. Thus, the network device can carry the second TA in the first indication message and send it to the terminal device based on the second request message from the terminal device.

In some embodiments, the second indication information may also carry the first TA. Thus, after receiving the second indication information from the network device, the terminal device may perform UL synchronization with the first cell based on the first TA carried in the second indication information, or may determine the first TA based on the second TA carried in the second indication information, and then perform UL synchronization with the first cell based on the determined first TA.

In some embodiments, the second indication information may carry the first TA but not the second TA. That is, after receiving the second request information for requesting the second TA from the terminal device, the network device may carry the first TA in the first indication information and send it to the terminal device. In this case, the terminal device may perform UL synchronization with the first cell based on the first TA carried in the second indication information.

In a second possible manner, the second TA is obtained through a random access process (for example, recorded as a second RA process); wherein the second RA process is executed by the terminal device on the first cell or the second cell.

In some embodiments, before the terminal device executes the second RA process, the method may further include: the terminal device obtains configuration information of a first reference signal, the first reference signal is a reference signal of the first cell or a reference signal of the second cell, and the first reference signal is used to execute the second RA process.

Among them, the way in which the terminal device obtains the configuration information of the first reference signal, the type of the reference signal of the first cell, and the type of the reference signal of the second cell can refer to the aforementioned description of the first RA process, which will not be repeated here.

According to the above technical solution, the terminal device may obtain the configuration information of the first reference signal, and then the terminal device may perform the second RA process on the first cell or the second cell based on the first reference signal configured by the configuration information. For example, after obtaining the configuration information of the first reference signal, the terminal device may determine the preamble and/or RO corresponding to the first reference signal, and then perform the second RA process based on the determined preamble and/or RO.

Through the second RA process, the terminal device can obtain the second TA. For example, in the second RA process, the network device can carry the second TA in the RAR and send it to the terminal device. In some embodiments, the network device can also carry the first TA in the RAR and send it to the terminal device. In this way, after receiving the RAR, the terminal device can perform UL synchronization with the first cell based on the first TA carried therein, or can determine the first TA based on the second TA carried therein, and then perform UL synchronization with the first cell based on the determined first TA. In some embodiments, the RAR can carry the first TA but not the second TA. In this way, after receiving the RAR, the terminal device can perform UL synchronization with the first cell based on the first TA carried therein.

In some embodiments, the type of reference signal used to perform the second RA process is indicated by the network device. That is, the type of the first reference signal used by the terminal device when performing the second RA process is indicated by the network device. In other words, the network device may indicate to the terminal device which reference signal (s) to use to perform the second RA process. For example, the network device may indicate to the terminal device whether to use SSB, TRS or CSI-RS to perform the second RA process.

In some embodiments, the network device may carry the first TA and/or the second TA in the fourth indication information and send it to the terminal device, wherein the second TA is used to determine the first TA, and the first TA is used for the terminal device to perform UL synchronization with the first cell.

As an example, the fourth indication information is the above-mentioned first indication information or the second indication information.

As another example, the fourth indication information is a response to the third request information, and the third request information is used to request the first TA and/or the second TA, or in other words, the third request information is request information sent by the terminal device to the network device to request the first TA and/or the second TA.

Exemplarily, the fourth indication information may be any one of the following: RAR; TAC MAC CE; and a DL message carrying the first TA and/or the second TA. The DL message carrying the first TA and/or the second TA may be, for example, a DL message other than RAR and TAC MAC CE.

Exemplarily, the third request information may be any one of the following: SR (or dedicated SR); UCI (or dedicated UCI); UL MAC CE (may be carried by PUSCH); UL RRC message (may be carried by PUSCH); UL resources of the first cell; and UL resources of the second cell. Among them, UL resources may refer to PUSCH at a specific time-frequency position, for example.

As another example, the fourth indication information is a RAR sent by the network device to the terminal device during the RA process. The RA process may be, for example, the first RA process or the second RA process. That is, the fourth indication information may be a RAR sent by the network device to the terminal device during the first RA process; or, the fourth indication information may be a RAR sent by the network device to the terminal device during the second RA process.

The second cell in this embodiment is introduced below.

In some embodiments, the second cell is indicated by the network device; or, the second cell is preconfigured by the terminal device; or, the second cell is preconfigured by the network device; or, the second cell is predefined (such as predefined by a protocol); or, the second cell is determined/selected by the terminal device. In other words, which cell is used for the terminal device to perform UL synchronization with the first cell (or, which cell's TA can be used to determine the TA of the first cell, or, which cell has the same or similar TA as the first cell) is indicated by the network device, or is preconfigured by the terminal device or the network device, or is predefined (such as predefined by a protocol), or is determined/selected by the terminal device.

According to the above technical solution, the method for determining the second cell is clarified, that is, it is clarified which cell can be used for the terminal device to perform UL synchronization with the first cell.

In some embodiments, the second cell is determined/selected based on the first information. For example, the second cell is determined/selected by the terminal device based on the first information sent by the network device. The first information may, for example, include at least one of the following: location information of the network device; location information of an adjacent network device of the network device (i.e., a network device adjacent to the network device); location information of a third cell included in the network device, the third cell being the cell where the terminal device is located; location information of a cell adjacent to the third cell; co-located information between each network device; co-located information between each cell; quasi co-location (QCL) information between reference signals; QCL information between channels; and positioning information.

Taking the network device as a base station as an example, the first information may, for example, include at least one of the following: location information of this base station (i.e., location information of the network device); location information of neighboring base stations (i.e., location information of neighboring network devices of the network device); location information of the cell where the terminal device is located/this cell (i.e., location information of the third cell included in the network device); location information of neighboring cells (i.e., location information of cells adjacent to the third cell); information on which base stations are co-located base stations (i.e., co-location information between various network devices); information on which cells are co-located cells (i.e., co-location information between various cells); QCL information between reference signals; QCL information between channels; and positioning information.

For example, the second cell may be any of the following cells: PCell; PSCell; PCell or PSCell in the same cell group as the first cell; any cell in the same cell group as the first cell; the cell with the smallest cell index in the same cell group as the first cell; the cell with the largest cell index in the same cell group as the first cell; any cell in the same TA group as the first cell; the cell with the smallest cell index in the same TA group as the first cell; the cell with the largest cell index in the same TA group as the first cell.

In some embodiments, the second cell is indicated by the network device through third indication information. For example, the network device may send the third indication information to the terminal device, and accordingly, the terminal device may receive the third indication information from the network device, so that the terminal device may know, based on the third indication information, that the second cell is the cell for the terminal device to perform UL synchronization with the first cell.

Exemplarily, the third indication information may include, for example, the frequency and/or cell identifier of the second cell. The frequency may be a frequency index (index), such as an index of an adjacent frequency in SIB3/4/5, or a frequency index of SIB2 (frequency index of the serving cell). Alternatively, the frequency may be a frequency value (ARFCN-ValueNR), or the frequency may be a frequency value corresponding to SIB2 (frequency value of the serving cell). The cell identifier may be, for example, a physical cell identifier (Physical Cell Identity, PCI) or a global cell identifier. In some embodiments, the frequency value may be provided using absoluteFrequencySSB, or other IEs. In some embodiments, when the frequency value may be provided using absoluteFrequencySSB, the frequency may be the frequency of the current serving cell, or the frequency of a reference cell or a cell for obtaining downlink timing (such as when an SSB-less SCell obtains downlink timing from another cell, the frequency of another cell or the SSB of the cell is given).

In some embodiments, the third indication information is configured under the first condition. The first condition may, for example, include at least one of the following: the condition of SCellAdd; the condition of SCellAddMod; the condition of SCellOnly; and the condition of SCelladdOnly. That is, the third indication information may be configured under at least one of the conditions of SCellAdd, SCellAddMod, SCellOnly, and SCelladdOnly. As an implementation method, the third indication information may be configured under the condition of SCellAdd, or, may be configured under the condition of SCellAddMod, or, may be configured under the condition of SCellOnly, or, may be configured under the condition of SCelladdOnly. For a description of the above conditions, see Table 1 below.

In some embodiments, if the third indication information appears, or in other words, if the network device sends the third indication information to the terminal device, then the terminal device may perform UL synchronization with the first cell based on the second cell indicated by the third indication information; if the third indication information does not appear, In other words, if the network device does not send the third indication information to the terminal device, the terminal device may use the default cell as the second cell, and perform UL synchronization with the first cell based on the default cell; or, the terminal device may autonomously determine/select a cell as the second cell, and perform UL synchronization with the first cell based on the determined/selected cell.

In some embodiments, the first cell and the second cell belong to the same TA group and/or cell group. Since the TAs of the cells belonging to the same TA group are the same and there is an association relationship between the TAs of the cells belonging to the same cell group, when the first cell and the second cell belong to the same TA group and/or cell group, the second TA can be used to determine the first TA.

In one possible manner, the TA group and/or cell group is determined by the network device based on the second information. Exemplarily, the second information may include at least one of the following: measurement results of reference signals; positioning information (such as location information of the terminal device, and/or location information of network devices adjacent to the terminal device); movement trajectory information of the terminal device; location information of the network device; location information of adjacent network devices of the network device; location information of a third cell included in the network device, the third cell being the cell where the terminal device is located; location information of cells adjacent to the third cell; co-site information between various network devices; and, co-site information between various cells.

Among them, at least one of the measurement result of the reference signal, the positioning information, and the movement trajectory information of the terminal device may be, for example, sent by the terminal device to the network device. That is, the terminal device may send at least one of the measurement result of the reference signal, the positioning information, and the movement trajectory information of the terminal device to the network device, so that the network device can determine the TA group and/or cell group.

In some embodiments, the second cell is activated by the terminal device by instructing the network device to activate the second cell; or, the second cell is activated by the terminal device under the second condition.

In one possible scenario, the second cell is activated by the terminal device by instructing the network device. In one example, the network device may instruct the terminal device to activate the second cell through RRC configuration. For example, the network device may set the scellState in the RRC configuration (such as in SCellConfig) to activated to indicate the activation of the second cell. In another example, the network device may instruct the terminal device to activate the second cell through MAC CE (such as SCell Activation/Deactivation MAC CE, enhanced Sell Activation/Deactivation MAC CE, or new SCell activation/deactivation MAC CE).

Another possible situation is that the second cell is activated by the terminal device under the second condition.

Exemplarily, the second condition may include at least one of the following: the deactivation timer of the second cell times out; the deactivation timer of the second cell needs to be started; the deactivation timer of the second cell needs to be restarted; the terminal device obtains indication information for indicating the second cell; the terminal device obtains the reference signal of the second cell; the terminal device performs uplink synchronization or downlink synchronization with the first cell; the terminal device obtains the configuration of the first cell; the first cell is activated; and, the first cell needs to be activated.

According to the method of this embodiment, it is clarified how the terminal device performs UL synchronization with the first cell (SSB-less Scell).

To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, possible implementation schemes (including schemes 2A to 2C) applicable to the method shown in Fig. 2 are introduced below in combination with examples. Among them, schemes 2A to 2C may be for example directed to the aforementioned scenario 2a.

Option 2A

In scheme 2A, the network (network device) may configure the SSB-less SCell (an example of the first cell) and the specific cell (an example of the second cell) to belong to the same cell group and/or TA group. In this embodiment, the specific cell is a cell for the UE to perform uplink synchronization with the SSB-less SCell, or the specific cell may also be understood as a cell having the same/similar TA as the SSB-less SCell. The TA between the UE and the specific cell (corresponding to the second TA in the aforementioned embodiment) may be used to determine the TA between the UE and the SSB-less SCell (corresponding to the first TA in the aforementioned embodiment). In this embodiment, the specific cell may be, for example, a reference cell, or the specific cell may also be replaced by a reference cell.

Exemplarily, if the UE knows which cell the specific cell is (e.g., knows the cell identifier, frequency, etc. of the specific cell), the UE may consider that the UL timing synchronization (or TA) between the UE and the specific cell and the UL timing synchronization (or TA) between the UE and the SSB-less SCell are the same/similar. In this case, the UE may determine the TA between the UE and the SSB-less SCell based on the TA between the UE and the specific cell, and then perform UL synchronization with the SSB-less SCell.

In some embodiments, the UE may report at least one of the following information to the network for the network to configure a cell group or a TA group of cells: reference signal measurement results, positioning information (such as the location of the UE and/or the location of the base station adjacent to the UE), and UE motion trajectory information.

In some embodiments, which cell is the specific cell, or which cell does the SSB-less SCell belong to in the same cell group and/or TA group as the SSB-less SCell, or which cell's TA can the UE use to determine the TA between the UE and the SSB-less SCell, can be indicated to the UE by the network or determined in any of the following ways: preconfigured to the UE; determined/selected by the UE itself; predefined (such as predefined by the protocol). For example, the specific cell can be any of the following cells: a PCell in the same cell group as the SSB-less SCell, a PSCell, a cell with the smallest cell index, and a cell with the largest cell index.

Exemplarily, the network may indicate auxiliary information (corresponding to the first information in the aforementioned embodiment) to the UE for the UE to determine/select a specific cell, or in other words, for the UE to determine a cell having the same/similar TA as the SSB-less SCell. The auxiliary information may include at least one of the following: location information of the base station (the network/network device), neighboring base stations (neighboring networks/network devices of the network/network device), network equipment); location information of this area (the cell where the UE is located); location information of neighboring cells (the adjacent cells of the cell where the UE is located); information on which base stations are co-located with this base station (or co-located information between base stations); information on which cells are co-located cells; information on which base stations are co-located base stations; QCL information between reference signals; QCL information between channels; and positioning information.

Exemplarily, the UE may autonomously determine/select a specific cell based on some preset criteria, or in other words, autonomously determine/select a cell having the same/similar TA as the SSB-less SCell. In one example, the UE may determine/select a specific cell based on at least one of the following information: cell identification, UE location information, network location information (for example, may include cell coverage information, quasi-co-location (QCL information), positioning information, co-site information, and co-located information. In another example, the UE may determine/select a specific cell by judging a threshold value. For example, if the distance between the UE and a certain cell is less than a preset threshold, the cell may be determined/selected as a specific cell; for another example, assuming that the distance between the UE and the SSB-less SCell is d1, and the distance between the UE and another cell is d2, then if the difference between d1 and d2 is less than a preset threshold, the other cell may be determined as a specific cell.

One possible scenario is that the TA between the UE and the SSB-less SCell is equal to the TA between the UE and the specific cell, that is, the specific cell and the SSB-less SCell have the same TA. In this case, when the UE performs UL synchronization with the SSB-less SCell based on the TA of the specific cell, the TA between the UE and the specific cell may be used as the TA between the UE and the SSB-less SCell.

Another possible situation is that the specific cell and the SSB-less SCell have similar TAs. In this situation, when the UE performs UL synchronization with the SSB-less SCell based on the TA of the specific cell, the TA between the UE and the SSB-less SCell can be derived based on the TA between the UE and the specific cell. For example, an offset can be added/subtracted/multiplied/divided based on the TA between the UE and the specific cell to obtain the TA between the UE and the SSB-less SCell; for another example, the TA between the UE and the SSB-less SCell is the result of a function whose input includes the TA between the UE and the specific cell.

In some embodiments, when the UE needs to perform UL synchronization with the SSB-less SCell, the UE may use the TA between the UE and the SSB-less SCell to determine the TA between the UE and the SSB-less SCell, and then perform UL synchronization with the SSB-less SCell based on the TA between the UE and the SSB-less SCell. In some embodiments, if the specific cell has not been activated, the UE may request to activate the specific cell.

In some embodiments, in order to obtain the TA between the UE and a specific cell, the UE may perform an UL synchronization process in the specific cell, such as performing a random access process, or triggering a random access process, or requesting the network to send a TAC MAC CE or RAR, etc. In some embodiments, a new random access triggering condition may be added, for example, when the UE needs to perform UL synchronization with the SSB-less SCell, the random access process is triggered. Through the random access process, the UE may obtain the TA between the UE and the specific cell, and/or the TA between the UE and the SSB-less SCell.

Exemplarily, when the UE requests the network to send a TAC MAC CE or RAR, the request message used may be a UL MAC CE, a UL RRC message, or a UCI. That is, the UE may request the network to send a TAC MAC CE or a RAR to the UE by sending a UL MAC CE, a UL RRC message, or a UCI to the network. Exemplarily, the TAC MAC CE or the RAR may carry the TA between the UE and a specific cell, and/or the TA between the UE and the SSB-less SCell.

Option 2B

In Scheme 2B, when the UE learns about the specific cell of the SSB-less SCell, the UE can perform RA on the specific cell or SSB-less SCell based on the configuration information of the reference signal (such as SSB/TRS/CSI-RS) of the specific cell.

Taking the reference signal as SSB/TRS/CSI-RS as an example, the UE can obtain the RACH/PRACH configuration for the SSB-less SCell corresponding to the SSB-/TRS/CSI-RS of a specific cell. Among them, the RACH/PRACH configuration includes a preamble and/or RO. The preamble and/or RO are used by the UE when performing RA in a specific cell for the SSB-less SCell (that is, the RA process is performed to obtain the TA between the UE and the SSB-less SCell); or, the preamble and/or RO are used by the UE when performing RA on the SSB-less SCell. In some embodiments, the UE can also know whether to perform UL synchronization (or DL synchronization, or RA) through SSB, TRS or CSI-RS. In some embodiments, the UE can select the preamble and/or RO corresponding to the reference signal according to the SSB/TRS/CSI-RS of the specific cell.

The UE may obtain the TA between the UE and the SSB-less SCell and/or the TA between the UE and the specific cell by performing the RA process in the specific cell or SSB-less SCell using RACH/PRACH resources. For example, in the RA process, the network may carry the TA between the UE and the SSB-less SCell and/or the TA between the UE and the specific cell in the RAR and send it to the UE. The TA between the UE and the specific cell may be used to determine the TA between the UE and the SSB-less SCell. In one example, the TA between the UE and the SSB-less SCell is equal to the TA between the UE and the specific cell; in another example, the TA between the UE and the SSB-less SCell is derived from the TA of the specific cell. After determining the TA between the UE and the SSB-less SCell, the UE may perform UL synchronization with the SSB-less SCell based on the TA.

Option 2C

In scheme 2C, when the UE needs to perform data transmission and/or UL synchronization on the SSB-less SCell, or when the UE is out of UL synchronization in the SSB-less SCell, the UE may request the network for TA using first request information. The first request information may be, for example, UL resources or a UL request message.

The UL resources may be resources on the SSB-less SCell or resources on a specific cell. The UL request message may be, for example, any one of the following: SR (or dedicated SR); specific UL MAC CE carried on PUSCH; specific RRC signaling carried on PUSCH; UCI (or dedicated UCI).

Exemplarily, the network may determine the TA between the UE and the SSB-less cell and/or the TA between the UE and the specific cell based on the first request information, and then send the first indication information to the UE to indicate the TA information (including the TA between the UE and the SSB-less cell and/or the TA between the UE and the specific cell) to the UE, and then the UE may perform UL synchronization with the SSB-less SCell based on the first indication information. The first indication information may be, for example, an RAR, a TAC MAC CE, or other message carrying the TA. In some embodiments, the network may use the DL information of the specific cell (such as a DL boundary) as a reference for the TA.

It should be understood that the specific cell in Scheme 2A to Scheme 2C may be, for example, a reference cell, that is, the specific cell may also be replaced by a reference cell.

Examples of implementation methods of Schemes 2A to 2C are as follows:

Implementation method a: The network indicates that the SSB-less SCell (denoted as cell #1) and cell #2 (an example of a specific cell) are cells of the same TA group. In this case, the UE can perform UL synchronization (or timing advance) with cell #1 based on the TA with cell #2.

As an example, if the UE has a valid TA with cell #2, the UE may use the valid TA with cell #2 to perform UL synchronization (or timing advance) with cell #1.

In another example, if the UE does not have a valid TA with cell #2, the UE may send a request message (such as the first request message/the second request message/the third request message) to the network in cell #2 or cell #1 to request a valid TA from the network. Furthermore, the network may indicate the valid TA to the UE for the UE to perform UL synchronization (or timing advance) with cell #1.

As another example, if the UE does not have a valid TA with cell #2, the UE may trigger a RA process in cell #2 or cell #1, and/or send msg1 to the network in cell #2 or cell #1 to obtain a valid TA, and then perform UL synchronization (or timing advance) with cell #1 based on the valid TA.

Exemplarily, cell #2 may be a specific cell indicated by the network, or may be another specific cell, such as a cell in the same cell group as the SSB-less SCell.

Implementation b: The UE determines a cell (cell #2) that uses/has the same or similar TA as the SSB-less SCell (cell #1). The determination method includes any of the following: UE autonomous determination/selection; UE pre-configuration; pre-definition (as specified in the protocol). The UE performs UL synchronization (or timing advance) with cell #1 based on the TA with cell #2.

As an example, if the UE has a valid TA with cell #2, the UE uses the valid TA value with cell #2 to perform UL synchronization (or timing advance) with cell #1.

In another example, if the UE does not have a valid TA with cell #2, the UE sends a request message (such as the first request message/the second request message/the third request message) to the network in cell #2 or cell #1 to request a valid TA from the network. Then, the network may indicate the valid TA to the UE for the UE to perform UL synchronization (or timing advance) with cell #1.

As another example, if the UE does not have a valid TA with cell #2, the UE may trigger a RA process in cell #2 or cell #1, and/or send msg1 to the network in cell #2 or cell #1 to obtain a valid TA, and then perform UL synchronization (or timing advance) with cell #1 based on the valid TA.

Implementation c: If the UE is out of synchronization in the uplink of SSB-less SCell (cell #1), or has UL data to send, or needs to perform UL synchronization, the UE may request a valid TA from the network using specific resources or resource locations. Accordingly, the network sends a valid TA to the UE for the UE to perform UL synchronization (or timing advance) with cell #1.

Implementation d: If the UE loses synchronization in the uplink of SSB-less SCell (cell #1), or has UL data to send, or needs to perform UL synchronization, the UE may trigger the RA process in cell #2 or cell #1. As an example, the UE may select the reference signal to be used based on the reference signal (such as SSB/TRS/CSI-RS) configuration of cell #2 and/or the channel quality information of the reference signal, and perform the RA process using the resources (such as preamble and/or RO) on cell #1. As an implementation, the UE may send msg3/MSG A in cell #1 and receive msg2 or 4 in cell #2.

Implementation method e: If the UE loses uplink synchronization in the SSB-less SCell (cell #1), or has UL data to send, or needs to perform UL synchronization, the UE triggers the RA process in cell #2 or cell #1.

In one example, the UE can obtain the TA between the UE and cell #2 through the RA process, and the TA between the UE and cell #2 can be used to determine the TA between the UE and cell #1 (the TA between the UE and cell #1 is equal to the TA between the UE and cell #2, or the TA between the UE and cell #1 is derived based on the TA between the UE and cell #2).

In another example, the UE may obtain (eg, directly obtain) the TA between the UE and cell #1 through the RA process.

As another example, through the RA process, the UE can simultaneously obtain the TA between the UE and cell #2, and the TA between the UE and cell #1.

In some embodiments, during the RA process, the UE may indicate to the network that it needs to obtain the TA between the UE and cell #2, or synchronize with the UL of cell #2. As an implementation method, the UE may indicate this information via msg1/msgA/msg3. For example, via a specific preamble The information in the code, RO, and PUSCH (such as Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI), MAC CE, etc.) is carried or indicated to the network.

The UL synchronization scheme for the aforementioned scenario 2a is introduced above. In some embodiments, for the aforementioned scenario 1, when the UE performs UL synchronization on the SSB-less SCell, the RA process may be performed based on the TRS/CSI-RS of the SSB-less SCell (such as replacing the relevant operations for the SSB with the relevant operations for the TRS). Alternatively, when the UE performs UL synchronization on the SSB-less SCell, the RA process may be performed based on the reference signal of a specific cell (such as a reference cell) of the SSB-less SCell (similar to the methods for scenario 2a in schemes 2A to 2C).

In some embodiments, for the aforementioned scenario 2, for the SSB-less SCell, the UE may perform timing based on the DL or UL data signal of the SSB-less SCell. For example, the UE may perform DL timing or DL synchronization based on the DL data signal of the SSB-less SCell; for another example, the UE may perform UL timing or obtain TA based on the UL data signal of the SSB-less SCell.

According to the above technical solution, it is clarified how the UE in connected or non-connected state communicates with the SSB-less SCell (such as UL synchronization).

Another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application is introduced below in conjunction with FIG3 .

FIG3 shows another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application, which may include:

S301, the terminal device receives a reference signal of a second cell or a DL data signal of a first cell, and the reference signal or the DL data signal is used for the terminal device to perform DL synchronization or DL timing with the first cell; wherein the second cell is a cell used for the terminal device to perform DL synchronization or DL timing with the first cell, and the first cell is a secondary cell without SSB transmission.

In one possible manner, the terminal device may receive a DL data signal of the first cell (eg, receive a DL data signal of the first cell from a network device), so that the terminal device may perform DL synchronization or DL timing with the first cell based on the DL data signal.

In another possible manner, the terminal device may receive a reference signal of the second cell (for example, receive a reference signal of the second cell from a network device), so that the terminal device may perform DL synchronization or DL timing with the first cell based on the reference signal.

Exemplarily, the type of the reference signal may be any one of SSB, TRS, and CSI-RS. That is, the terminal device may use any one of SSB, TRS, and CSI-RS reference signals to perform DL synchronization or DL timing with the first cell.

Exemplarily, at least part of the configuration information of the reference signal (i.e., a reference signal used for the terminal device to perform DL synchronization or DL timing with the first cell) may be indicated by the network device; and/or, at least part of the configuration information of the reference signal may be read by the terminal device from the second cell.

In one example, the network device may send (indicate) at least part of the configuration information of the reference signal to the terminal device, and accordingly, the terminal device may receive at least part of the configuration information from the network device. In this case, the terminal device may not need to read at least part of the configuration information from the second cell. In another example, the terminal device may read at least part of the configuration information of the reference signal from the second cell. In another example, the network device may send (indicate) at least part of the configuration information of the reference signal to the terminal device, and at the same time, the terminal device may read the remaining at least part of the configuration information of the reference signal from the second cell.

As an example, when the type of the reference signal is SSB, at least part of the configuration information of SSB may be, for example, at least part of the information in MIB and/or SIB1 (for example, ssb-SubcarrierOffset and/or systemFrameNumber); when the reference signal is CSI-RS or TRS, at least part of the configuration information of CSI-RS or TRS may be, for example, at least part of the information of CSI-RS or TRS (for example, at least one of scellActivationRS-Id, SCellActivationRS-ConfigId-r17, resourceSet, NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSetId, gapBetweenBursts, and qcl-Info-r17).

In some embodiments, when the reference signal of the second cell is used for the terminal device to perform DL synchronization or DL timing with the first cell, the type of the reference signal is indicated by the network device. That is, in the process of the terminal device performing DL synchronization or DL timing with the first cell, the type of reference signal used by the terminal device is indicated by the network device. In other words, the network device may indicate to the terminal device which reference signal (which type) to use to perform DL synchronization or DL timing with the first cell. For example, the network device may indicate to the terminal device whether to use SSB, TRS or CSI-RS to perform DL synchronization or DL timing with the first cell.

The second cell in this embodiment is introduced below.

In some embodiments, the second cell is indicated by the network device; or, the second cell is preconfigured by the terminal device or the network device; or, the second cell is predefined (such as predefined by a protocol); or, the second cell is determined/selected by the terminal device. In other words, which cell is used for the terminal device to perform DL synchronization or DL timing with the first cell is indicated by the network device, or, is preconfigured by the terminal device or the network device, or, is predefined (such as predefined by a protocol), or, is determined/selected by the terminal device.

In some embodiments, the second cell is determined/selected by the terminal device based on first information from the network device, and the first information may, for example, include at least one of the following: location information of the network device; location information of adjacent network devices of the network device; location information of a third cell included in the network device, the third cell being the cell where the terminal device is located; location information of cells adjacent to the third cell; co-located information between various network devices; co-located information between various cells; QCL information between reference signals; QCL information between channels; and positioning information.

In some embodiments, the second cell is indicated by the network device through third indication information. For example, the network device may send the third indication information to the terminal device, and accordingly, the terminal device may receive the third indication information from the network device, so that the terminal device may The third indication information indicates that the second cell is the cell used for the terminal device to perform DL synchronization or DL timing with the first cell.

Exemplarily, the third indication information may include, for example, the frequency and/or cell identifier of the second cell. The frequency may be a frequency index (index), such as an index of an adjacent frequency in SIB3/4/5, or a frequency index of SIB2 (frequency index of the serving cell). Alternatively, the frequency may be a frequency value (ARFCN-ValueNR). Alternatively, the frequency may be a frequency value of SIB2 (frequency value of the serving cell). The cell identifier may be, for example, a physical cell identifier (Physical Cell Identity, PCI) or a global cell identifier. In some embodiments, the frequency value may be provided using absoluteFrequencySSB, or other IEs. In some embodiments, when the frequency value may be provided using absoluteFrequencySSB, the frequency may be the frequency of the current serving cell, or the frequency of a reference cell or a cell for obtaining downlink timing (such as when an SSB-less SCell obtains downlink timing from another cell, the frequency of another cell or the SSB of the cell is given).

In some embodiments, the third indication information is configured under the first condition. The first condition may, for example, include at least one of the following: the condition of SCellAdd; the condition of SCellAddMod; the condition of SCellOnly; and the condition of SCelladdOnly. That is, the third indication information may be configured under at least one of the conditions of SCellAdd, SCellAddMod, SCellOnly, and SCelladdOnly. As an implementation method, the third indication information may be configured under the condition of SCellAdd, or, may be configured under the condition of SCellAddMod, or, may be configured under the condition of SCellOnly, or, may be configured under the condition of SCelladdOnly. For a description of the above conditions, see Table 1 below.

In some embodiments, the third indication information is optionally configured when an SCell is added.

In some embodiments, if the third indication information appears, or in other words, if the network device sends the third indication information to the terminal device, the terminal device may perform DL synchronization or DL timing with the first cell based on the second cell indicated by the third indication information; if the third indication information does not appear, or in other words, if the network device does not send the third indication information to the terminal device, the terminal device may use the default cell as the second cell, and perform DL synchronization or DL timing with the first cell based on the default cell; or, the terminal device may autonomously determine/select a cell as the second cell, and perform DL synchronization or DL timing with the first cell based on the determined/selected cell.

In some embodiments, the first cell and the second cell belong to the same TA group and/or cell group.

In one possible manner, the TA group and/or cell group is determined by the network device based on the second information. Exemplarily, the second information may include at least one of the following: measurement results of reference signals; positioning information (such as location information of the terminal device, and/or location information of network devices adjacent to the terminal device); movement trajectory information of the terminal device; location information of the network device; location information of adjacent network devices of the network device; location information of a third cell included in the network device, the third cell being the cell where the terminal device is located; location information of cells adjacent to the third cell; co-site information between various network devices; and, co-site information between various cells.

Among them, at least one of the measurement result of the reference signal, the positioning information, and the movement trajectory information of the terminal device may be, for example, sent by the terminal device to the network device. That is, the terminal device may send at least one of the measurement result of the reference signal, the positioning information, and the movement trajectory information of the terminal device to the network device, so that the network device can determine the TA group and/or cell group.

In some embodiments, the second cell is activated by the terminal device by instructing the network device to activate the second cell; or, the second cell is activated by the terminal device under the second condition.

In one possible scenario, the second cell is activated by the terminal device by instructing the network device. In one example, the network device may instruct the terminal device to activate the second cell through RRC configuration. For example, the network device may set the scellState in the RRC configuration (such as in SCellConfig) to activated to indicate the activation of the second cell. In another example, the network device may instruct the terminal device to activate the second cell through MAC CE (such as SCell Activation/Deactivation MAC CE, enhanced Sell Activation/Deactivation MAC CE, or new SCell activation/deactivation MAC CE).

Another possible situation is that the second cell is activated by the terminal device under the second condition.

Exemplarily, the second condition may include at least one of the following: the deactivation timer of the second cell times out; the deactivation timer of the second cell needs to be started; the deactivation timer of the second cell needs to be restarted; the terminal device obtains indication information for indicating the second cell; the terminal device obtains the reference signal of the second cell; the terminal device performs uplink synchronization or downlink synchronization with the first cell; the terminal device obtains the configuration of the first cell; the first cell is activated; and, the first cell needs to be activated.

According to the method of this embodiment, it is clarified how the terminal device performs DL synchronization or DL timing with the first cell (SSB-less Scell).

To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, a possible implementation scheme applicable to the method shown in FIG. 3 is introduced below with reference to examples, for example, for the aforementioned scenario 2a.

In some embodiments, in order to achieve DL synchronization or DL timing between the UE and the SSB-less SCell, a specific cell needs to be activated. The specific cell is a cell used for the UE to perform DL synchronization or DL timing with the first cell. In this embodiment, the specific cell can be, for example, a reference cell, or the specific cell can also be replaced by a reference cell.

As an example, for a specific cell, the network may set scellState (such as in SCellConfig) to activated to activate the specific cell; or the network may use MAC CE (such as SCell Activation/Deactivation MAC CE, enhanced Sell Activation/Deactivation MAC CE, or new SCell activation/deactivation MAC CE) activates the specific cell; or, the UE may start or restart sCellDeactivationTimer when it is obtained that the specific cell is a certain SCell, or when synchronization with the SSB-less SCell is performed based on the specific cell; or, the UE may activate the specific cell under the second condition. The second condition may, for example, include at least one of the following: obtaining indication information for indicating the specific cell; obtaining a reference signal (such as SSB/CSI-RS/TRS) of the specific cell; the UE performs uplink synchronization or downlink synchronization with the SSB-less SCell; obtaining the configuration of the SSB-less SCell; the SSB-less SCell is activated or needs to be activated.

It should be understood that the above-mentioned solution for activating a specific cell may also be applicable to other embodiments in the embodiments of the present application.

In some embodiments, for an SSB-less SCell, the network may indicate to the UE which cell (such as indicating a cell identifier, SSB frequency, etc.) is a specific cell of the SSB-less SCell. Thus, the UE may perform DL synchronization or DL timing with the SSB-less SCell according to the SSB of the specific cell. In some embodiments, the network may simultaneously indicate to the UE the SSB configuration information of the specific cell, such as at least part of the information in the MIB and/or SIB1 (for example, ssb-SubcarrierOffset and/or systemFrameNumber). It is understandable that if the network indicates the SSB configuration information of a specific cell, the UE may not need to read the SSB configuration information of the specific cell (such as MIB and/or SIB1) from the specific cell.

In some embodiments, for an SSB-less SCell, the network may indicate to the UE which cell (such as indicating a cell identifier, SSB frequency, etc.) is a specific cell of the SSB-less SCell. Thus, the UE may perform DL synchronization or DL timing with the SSB-less SCell according to the CSI-RS or TRS of the specific cell. In some embodiments, the network may simultaneously indicate to the UE at least part of the configuration information of the CSI-RS or TRS of the specific cell, such as at least part of the information of the CSI-RS or TRS (for example, at least one of scellActivationRS-Id, SCellActivationRS-ConfigId-r17, resourceSet, NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSetId, gapBetweenBursts, and qcl-Info-r17). It is understandable that if the network indicates the configuration information of the CSI-RS or TRS of a specific cell, the UE may not need to access the specific cell to obtain the configuration information of the CSI-RS or TRS.

In some embodiments, for an SSB-less SCell, if the network does not indicate to the UE which cell (such as the cell identifier, SSB frequency, etc.) is a specific cell of the SSB-less SCell, the UE may perform DL synchronization or DL timing with the SSB-less SCell based on the reference signal (such as SSB/CSI-RS/TRS) of the default cell, that is, the UE may use the default cell as a specific cell of the SSB-less SCell. Exemplarily, the UE may learn which cell is the default cell by any of the following methods: network indication; UE autonomous determination/selection; pre-definition (such as protocol pre-definition); UE pre-configuration. As an example, the default cell may be any of the following cells: PCell; PSCell; PCell or PSCell in the same cell group as the SSB-less SCell; any cell in the same cell group as the SSB-less SCell; the cell with the smallest cell index in the same cell group as the SSB-less SCell; the cell with the largest cell index in the same cell group as the SSB-less SCell; any cell in the same TA group as the SSB-less SCell; the cell with the smallest cell index in the same TA group as the SSB-less SCell; the cell with the largest cell index in the same TA group as the SSB-less SCell.

In some embodiments, the network may indicate the configuration information of the reference signal (such as SSB/CSI-RS/TRS) of the default cell of the UE. For example, for SSB, the network may indicate at least part of the information in MIB and/or SIB1 (for example: ssb-SubcarrierOffset and/or systemFrameNumber). In this case, the UE may not need to read the SSB configuration information (such as MIB and/or SIB1) of the default cell from the default cell. For example, for CSI-RS or TRS, the network may indicate at least part of the information of CSI-RS or TRS (for example: at least one of scellActivationRS-Id, SCellActivationRS-ConfigId-r17, resourceSet, NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSetId, gapBetweenBursts, qcl-Info-r17). In this case, the UE may not need to access the default cell to obtain the configuration information of CSI-RS or TRS.

In some embodiments, the UE may perform DL synchronization or DL timing with the SSB-less SCell based on the SSB/CSI-RS/TRS of the specific cell/default cell. For example, the UE may receive or measure the SSB/CSI-RS/TRS of the specific cell/default cell to obtain synchronization information, and may consider that the synchronization information is also the synchronization information of the SSB-less SCell, and then, the UE may perform DL synchronization or DL timing with the SSB-less SCell based on the synchronization information.

In some embodiments, for a specific cell/default cell, the network may instruct the UE on which reference signal(s) of the specific cell/default cell to perform DL synchronization or DL timing with the SSB-less SCell. For example, the network may instruct the UE to perform DL synchronization or DL timing based on SSB, CSI-RS, or TRS.

The implementation of the above DL synchronization or DL timing solution is exemplified as follows:

As an example, the network configures the configuration of the SSB-less SCell (denoted as cell #1) to the UE, and/or indicates that the SCell (denoted as cell #2) is a specific cell of cell #1, then the network may indicate to the UE via MAC CE or RRC configuration (such as scellState) to activate cell #2. Accordingly, the UE may activate cell #2 and perform DL synchronization or DL timing with cell #1 according to the SSB configuration of cell #2 (such as the network instructing the UE to perform DL synchronization or DL timing based on the SSB of cell #2).

The DL synchronization/DL timing scheme for the aforementioned scenario 2a is introduced above. In some embodiments, for the aforementioned scenario 2, for the SSB-less SCell, the UE may perform timing based on the DL or UL data signal of the SSB-less SCell. For example, the UE may perform DL timing or DL synchronization based on the DL data signal of the SSB-less SCell; for another example, the UE may perform UL timing or obtain TA based on the UL data signal of the SSB-less SCell.

In some embodiments, the network may indicate a specific cell and/or a default cell to the UE through a first parameter (corresponding to the third indication information in the aforementioned embodiment). That is, the first parameter may be used to indicate which cell the specific cell and/or the default cell is. As an example, the first parameter may include information about the specific cell and/or the default cell (such as frequency, cell identifier, etc.). That is, the network may indicate the specific cell and/or the default cell to the UE by indicating information about the specific cell and/or the default cell (such as frequency, cell identifier, etc.). Among them, the frequency may be a frequency index (index), such as an index of an adjacent frequency in SIB3/4/5, or a frequency index of SIB2 (frequency index of the serving cell). Alternatively, the frequency may be a frequency value (ARFCN-ValueNR). Alternatively, the frequency may be a frequency value of SIB2 (frequency value of the serving cell). The cell identifier may be, for example, a PCI, or a global cell identifier. In some embodiments, the frequency value may be provided using absoluteFrequencySSB, or provided by other IEs. In some embodiments, when the frequency value can be provided using absoluteFrequencySSB, the frequency may be the frequency of the current serving cell, or the frequency of the reference cell or the cell for obtaining downlink timing (if the SSB-less SCell obtains downlink timing from another cell, the frequency of another cell or the SSB of the cell is given).

Exemplarily, the first parameter may be configured under a first condition, for example. The first condition may include, for example, at least one of the following: a condition of SCellAdd; a condition of SCellAddMod; a condition of SCellOnly; and a condition of SCelladdOnly. That is, the first parameter may be configured under at least one of the conditions of SCellAdd, SCellAddMod, SCellOnly, and SCelladdOnly. As an implementation, the first parameter may be configured under the condition of SCellAdd, or, may be configured under the condition of SCellAddMod, or, may be configured under the condition of SCellOnly, or, may be configured under the condition of SCelladdOnly. For a description of the above conditions, see Table 1.

Table 1

Exemplarily, the first parameter may be included in at least one of the following information: RRC reconfiguration, ReconfigurationWithSync; ScellConfig; ServingCellConfigCommon; downlinkConfigCommon; FrequencyInfoDL.

In one possible manner, the first parameter is used to indicate a specific cell. In this case, if the first parameter appears, or in other words, if the network indicates the first parameter to the UE, the UE may obtain a timing reference based on the specific cell indicated by the first parameter; if the first parameter does not appear, or in other words, if the network does not indicate the first parameter to the UE, the UE may obtain a timing reference based on a default cell or a cell determined autonomously by the UE.

In another possible manner, the first parameter is used to indicate a default cell. In this case, if the first parameter appears, or if the network indicates the first parameter to the UE, the UE may acquire a timing reference based on the default cell indicated by the first parameter; if the first parameter does not appear, or if the network does not indicate the first parameter to the UE, the UE may acquire a timing reference based on a cell autonomously determined by the UE.

In some embodiments, the above-mentioned use of the first parameter by the UE may be supported in the case where the SCell for which the UE obtains the timing reference and the cell from which the UE obtains the timing reference are in different frequency bands (only supported in case the SCell for which the UE obtains the timing reference is in the different frequency band as the cell from which the UE obtains the timing reference); and/or; may be supported in the case where the SCell for which the UE obtains the timing reference and the cell from which the UE obtains the timing reference are in different frequency bands and co-located (only supported in case the SCell for which the UE obtains the timing reference is in the inter-band and co-located as the cell from which the UE obtains the timing reference)

In some embodiments, when an SSB-less SCell is configured for a UE, and in the case where the UE needs to obtain a timing reference for the SCell from another cell on a different frequency band, the network may add a new indication in the FrequencyInfoDL IE to indicate which cell is the specific cell (or reference cell) for the SCell. In some embodiments, the information of the specific cell (or reference cell) includes at least the SSB frequency and/or the PCI. The SSB frequency may be represented as ARFCN ValueNR, and the PCI may be represented as PhysCellId. In some embodiments, the information of the specific cell (or reference cell) may be given only the SSB frequency, or the SSB frequency and the PCI. In some embodiments, the SSB frequency or frequency point value may be provided using absoluteFrequencySSB, or provided by other IEs. In some embodiments, in the case where the frequency point value may be provided using absoluteFrequencySSB, the frequency point may be the frequency point of the current serving cell, or the frequency point of the reference cell or the cell for obtaining downlink timing (e.g., if the SSB-less SCell obtains downlink timing from another cell, the frequency point of the SSB of another cell or cell is given). In some embodiments, in the presence of absoluteFrequencySSB, or in the presence of absoluteFrequencySSB and PCI configuration, the UE obtains the timing reference for this SSB-less SCell from another cell (such as a specific cell or a reference cell). In some embodiments, when adding a new SCell, the information of the specific cell (or reference cell) exists. (For example: When configuring the SSB-less SCell to a UE and in the case that UE needs to obtain the timing reference for this SCell from another cell on the different frequency band, the network would add the new indication in FrequencyInfoDL IE to indicate which is the reference cell of this SCell. As required ed by RAN4,the information of the reference cell would at least include SSB frequency and PCI.In our view,SSB frequency would be represent as ARFCN-Va lueNR and PCI would be represented as PhysCellId.Similarly, the information of the reference cell would be optionally present upon adding a new SCell.)

In some embodiments, when absoluteFrequencySSB does not exist and/or the UE obtains the timing reference of the SSB-less SCell from a specific cell (or reference cell) on a different frequency band, the FrequencyInfoDL IE is extended to indicate the information of the specific cell (or reference cell). In some embodiments, the information of the specific cell (or reference cell) includes the ARFCN ValueNR and/or PhysCellId of the specific cell (or reference cell). In some embodiments, the information of the specific cell (or reference cell) may be given only the SSB frequency, or the SSB frequency and PCI. In some embodiments, the SSB frequency or frequency point value may be provided using absoluteFrequencySSB, or other IEs. In some embodiments, when the frequency point value may be provided using absoluteFrequencySSB, the frequency point may be the frequency point of the current serving cell, or the frequency point of the reference cell or the cell that obtains the downlink timing (if the SSB-less SCell obtains the downlink timing from another cell, the frequency point of the SSB of another cell or cell is given). In some embodiments, in the case that absoluteFrequencySSB is absent, or in the case that absoluteFrequencySSB is present and PCI is configured, the UE obtains the timing reference for the SSB-less SCell from another cell (such as a specific cell or a reference cell). (For example: In the case that absoluteFrequencySSB is absent and/or the UE obtains the timing reference for SSB-less SCell from the reference cell that is on the different frequency band, FrequencyInfoDL IE is extended to indicate the information of the reference cell. Optionally, the information of the reference cell includes ARFCN-ValueNR and PhysCellId of the reference cell.)

In some embodiments, when absoluteFrequencySSB does not exist and/or the UE is configured with a specific cell (or reference cell), or when absoluteFrequencySSB does not exist and/or the UE is configured with a specific cell (or reference cell) to obtain a timing reference for an SSB-less SCell, the UE obtains a timing reference through the specific cell (or reference cell), or obtains a timing reference for an SSB-less SCell. In some embodiments, the information of the specific cell (or reference cell) is included in the FrequencyInfoDL IE. In some embodiments, the information of the specific cell (or reference cell) includes the ARFCN ValueNR and/or PhysCellId of the specific cell (or reference cell).

In some embodiments, if absoluteFrequencySSB does not exist and/or information of a specific cell (or reference cell) exists, the UE obtains the timing reference of the SSB-less SCell from the specific cell (or reference cell). In some embodiments, this scheme can be supported when the SCell from which the UE obtains the timing reference and the cell from which the UE obtains the timing reference (i.e., the specific cell) are in different frequency bands. In some embodiments, the information of the specific cell (or reference cell) can be given only the SSB frequency, or the SSB frequency and PCI. In some embodiments, the SSB frequency or frequency point value can be provided using absoluteFrequencySSB, or other IEs. In some embodiments, when the frequency point value can be provided using absoluteFrequencySSB, the frequency point can be the frequency point of the current serving cell, or the frequency point of the reference cell or the cell for obtaining downlink timing (such as when the SSB-less SCell obtains downlink timing from another cell, the frequency point of the SSB of another cell or cell is given). In some embodiments, in the presence of absoluteFrequencySSB, or in the presence of absoluteFrequencySSB and PCI configuration, the UE obtains the timing reference for the SSB-less SCell from another cell (e.g., a specific cell or a reference cell). (For example: If absoluteFrequencySSB is absent and/or the information of the reference cell is present, the UE obtains the timing reference for SSB-less SCell from the reference cell. Optionally, This is only supported in case the SCell for which the UE obtains the timing reference is in the different frequency band as the cell (i.e. the reference cell) from which the UE obtains the timing reference.)

In some embodiments, if the absoluteFrequencySSB does not exist and/or the information of the specific cell (or reference cell) does not exist, the UE follows the traditional behavior, that is, the UE obtains the timing reference from the SpCell or SCell (if applicable). In some embodiments, this scheme can be supported when the SCell from which the UE obtains the timing reference is in the same frequency band as the cell from which the UE obtains the timing reference (i.e., the SpCell or SCell, respectively). In some embodiments, the information of the specific cell (or reference cell) can be given only the SSB frequency, or the SSB frequency and PCI. In some embodiments, the SSB frequency or frequency point value can be provided using the absoluteFrequencySSB, or its In some embodiments, when the frequency value can be provided using absoluteFrequencySSB, the frequency can be the frequency of the current serving cell, or the frequency of the reference cell or the cell for obtaining downlink timing (such as when the SSB-less SCell obtains downlink timing from another cell, the frequency of the other cell or the SSB of the cell is given). In some embodiments, when absoluteFrequencySSB appears, or when absoluteFrequencySSB appears and PCI is configured, the UE obtains the timing reference of the SSB-less SCell from another cell (such as a specific cell or a reference cell). (For example: If absoluteFrequencySSB is absent and/or the information of the reference cell is absent, the UE follows the legacy behavior,iethe UE obtains timing reference from the SpCell or an SCell if applicable.Optionally, This is only supported in case the SCell for which the UE obtains the timing reference is in the same frequency band as the cell(iethe SpCell or the SCell,respectively)from which the UE obtains the timing reference.)

In some embodiments, if absoluteFrequencySSB is absent and/or the information of the reference cell is absent, the UE obtains the timing reference for SSB-less SCell from the intra-band cell or Pcell or default cell. Optionally, Whether the obtaining is from the intra-band cell or Pcell or default cell depends on the UE implementation or the network indication.

In some embodiments, if absoluteFrequencySSB does not exist and/or information of a specific cell (or reference cell) is not configured, the UE obtains the timing reference of the SSB-less SCell from an in-band cell or Pcell or other Scell or a default cell. In some embodiments, the cell from which the UE obtains the timing reference is determined by the UE implementation, or is predefined, or is preconfigured by the network, or is otherwise indicated by the network.

According to the above technical solution, it is clarified how the UE performs DL synchronization or DL timing with the SSB-less SCell.

It should be understood that the above-mentioned scheme regarding the third indication information (first parameter), for example, can be applicable to a scenario of how the UE determines DL timing, or how the UE determines a timing reference; or, can be applicable to a scenario of how to indicate or determine a specific cell or a timing reference cell.

It should also be understood that the above-mentioned solution regarding the third indication information (first parameter) can be applied to the aforementioned scenario 1, scenario 2 and scenario 2a, for example.

It should also be understood that the above-mentioned scenarios regarding how the UE determines DL timing, or how the UE determines a timing reference; or, may be applicable to scenarios regarding how to indicate or determine a specific cell or a timing reference cell, and may be applicable to the aforementioned scenarios 1, 2, and 2a.

It should also be understood that the above-mentioned scheme regarding the third indication information (first parameter) can be implemented in combination with the method shown in Figure 2 or Figure 3, or can also be implemented separately, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this. That is, the embodiments of the present application also provide a method of communication, in which the third indication information (first parameter) can be used to indicate the second cell (such as a specific cell and/or a default cell). Among them, the introduction of the third indication information (first parameter) can be found in the description in the aforementioned embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

FIG. 4 shows another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application, which may include:

S401, the terminal device receives a first MAC CE from the network device, and the first MAC CE is used to indicate the reporting method of the first CSI report with sub-reporting configuration.

Among them, the reporting method can also be called an activation method.

In this embodiment, the network device may send a first MAC CE to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device may receive the first MAC CE from the network device. The first MAC CE is at least used to indicate a reporting method of a first CSI report with a sub-reporting configuration.

As an implementation method, the first MAC CE may, for example, include indications or positions of multiple sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the first CSI report, and when any indication or position of the sub-reporting configuration is set to activated, the first MAC CE instructs the terminal device to report the first CSI report. For example, assuming that the first MAC CE includes indications or positions of 4 sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the first CSI report, then, among the indications or positions of the 4 sub-reporting configurations, if any one of the indications or positions of the sub-reporting configurations (such as any one of the indications or positions of the 1st to 4th sub-reporting configurations) is set to activated, it means that the terminal device needs to report the first CSI report.

In one possible manner, when the value of an indication or position (such as a bitmap position) of a sub-reporting configuration is set to a first specific value (such as 1), it indicates that the indication or position of the sub-reporting configuration is set to activation; when the value of an indication or position of a sub-reporting configuration is set to a second specific value (such as 0), it indicates that the indication or position of the sub-reporting configuration is set to deactivation.

Exemplarily, in the case where the first MAC CE instructs the terminal device to report the first CSI report, among the indications or positions of the multiple sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the first CSI report, the number of indications or positions of the sub-reporting configurations set to be activated is greater than or equal to 1. For example, assuming that the first MAC CE includes indications or positions of 4 sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the first CSI report, then, if the MAC CE indicates that the terminal device needs to report the first CSI report, then among the indications or positions of the 4 sub-reporting configurations, there may be at least 1 indication or position of the sub-reporting configuration set to be activated, for example, the indications or positions of the 1st and 4th sub-reporting configurations are set to be activated.

In some embodiments, if the number of indications or positions of sub-reporting configurations set to be activated among the indications or positions of multiple sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the first CSI report is greater than 1, it can be known that the first CSI report is a CSI report with sub-reporting configurations.

In some embodiments, for each of the multiple sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the first CSI report, when the indication or position of the sub-reporting configuration is set to activated, the first MAC CE is also used to instruct the terminal device to report the sub-report report corresponding to the sub-reporting configuration in the first CSI report. For example, assuming that the first MAC CE includes indications or positions of 4 sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the first CSI report, then, if the indication or position of the first sub-reporting configuration and the indication or position of the third sub-reporting configuration are set to activated, the first MAC CE can not only indicate that the terminal device needs to report the first CSI report, but also be used to further indicate that the terminal device needs to report the sub-report reports corresponding to the first sub-reporting configuration and the third sub-reporting configuration in the first CSI report.

In some embodiments, the first MAC CE is also used to indicate the reporting method of the second CSI report without sub-reporting configuration. That is, the first MAC CE can be used to indicate the reporting method of the first CSI report with sub-reporting configuration, and can also be used to indicate the reporting method of the second CSI report without sub-reporting configuration.

As an implementation method, the first MAC CE may, for example, include indications or positions of multiple sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the second CSI report, and when any indication or position of the sub-reporting configuration is set to activated, the first MAC CE instructs the terminal device to report the second CSI report. For example, assuming that the first MAC CE includes indications or positions of 4 sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the second CSI report, then, among the indications or positions of the 4 sub-reporting configurations, if any one of the indications or positions of the sub-reporting configurations (such as any one of the indications or positions of the 1st to 4th sub-reporting configurations) is set to activated, it means that the terminal device needs to report the second CSI report.

Exemplarily, in the case where the first MAC CE instructs the terminal device to report the second CSI report, among the indications or positions of the multiple sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the second CSI report, the number of indications or positions of the sub-reporting configurations set to be activated is 1. For example, assuming that the first MAC CE includes indications or positions of 4 sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the second CSI report, then, if the MAC CE instructs the terminal device to report the second CSI report, among the 4 sub-reporting configurations, there is an indication or position of 1 sub-reporting configuration that is set to be activated, for example, the indication or position of the 1st sub-reporting configuration is set to be activated, at this time, the indications or positions of the other 3 sub-reporting configurations may not need to be configured.

In one possible manner, when the first MAC CE is used to indicate both the reporting method of the first CSI report with a sub-reporting configuration and the reporting method of the second CSI report without a sub-reporting configuration, the length of the first MAC CE is fixed. In this way, the terminal device may no longer need to determine the length of the first MAC CE, for ease of implementation.

In some embodiments, the first MAC CE is not used to indicate the reporting method of the second CSI report without sub-reporting configuration. That is, the first MAC CE can be used to indicate the reporting method of the first CSI report with sub-reporting configuration, but not to indicate the reporting method of the second CSI report without sub-reporting configuration.

In some embodiments, when the first MAC CE is not used to indicate the reporting mode of the second CSI report without sub-reporting configuration, the second CSI report may be indicated by a second MAC CE. The second MAC CE may be, for example, an existing MAC CE, such as: SP CSI reporting on PUCCH Activation/Deactivation MAC CE. The second MAC CE is at least used to indicate the reporting mode of the second CSI report without sub-reporting configuration.

In one possible manner, when the first MAC CE is used to indicate a reporting mode of a first CSI report with a sub-reporting configuration, but not used to indicate a reporting mode of a second CSI report without a sub-reporting configuration, the length of the first MAC CE is fixed or variable. When the length of the first MAC CE is fixed, the terminal device may no longer need to determine the length of the first MAC CE, which is convenient for implementation. When the length of the first MAC CE is variable, the length of the first MAC CE can be flexibly adjusted.

In some embodiments, a new logical channel identifier (Logical Channel ID, LCID) can be used to identify the MAC CE, such as E-LCID.

In some embodiments, when the network device sends a first MAC CE to the terminal device, the terminal device does not use a conventional MAC CE, wherein the conventional MAC CE is used to indicate a reporting method of a CSI report with a reporting configuration, but is not used to indicate a reporting method of a CSI report with a sub-reporting configuration.

In some embodiments, when the network device sends the first MAC CE to the terminal device, the terminal device can still use the traditional MAC CE. At this time, if the indication or position of a reporting configuration included in the traditional MAC CE is set to activated, it is considered that the indication or position of all sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the reporting configuration is set to activated.

According to the method of this embodiment, it is clarified how the network device indicates the reporting method of the CSI report to the terminal device through the MAC CE. In this embodiment, the CSI report (such as the first CSI report; and the second CSI report) can be, for example, a semi-persistent (SP) CSI report.

To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, possible implementation schemes (including scheme 4A and scheme 4B) applicable to the method shown in FIG. 4 are introduced below in combination with examples.

Option 4A

The MAC CE includes: indication information for a CSI report with a sub-config (i.e., the aforementioned sub-reporting configuration) (corresponding to the first CSI report in the aforementioned embodiment), and indication information for a CSI report without a sub-configuration (corresponding to the second CSI report in the aforementioned embodiment). Among them, the indication information for a CSI report with a sub-configuration is used to indicate to the UE that there is a sub-configuration. Whether the CSI report needs to be reported; the indication information for the CSI report without sub-configuration is used to indicate to the UE whether the CSI report without sub-configuration needs to be reported. In other words, the MAC CE can be used to indicate to the UE whether the CSI report with sub-configuration needs to be reported, and can be used to indicate to the UE whether the CSI report without sub-configuration needs to be reported.

As an implementation method, the MAC CE may not need to explicitly distinguish whether a CSI report has a sub-configuration. In this case, if a CSI report has a sub-configuration, the number of positions corresponding to the bitmap position of the sub-configuration that have a specific value (such as 1) may be more than one; if a CSI report has no sub-configuration, the number of positions corresponding to the bitmap position of the sub-configuration that have a specific value (such as 1) may be 0 or 1. Among them, 0 indicates that the CSI report does not need to be reported, and 1 indicates that the CSI report needs to be reported.

In Scheme 4A, the length of the MAC CE may be, for example, a fixed length.

In some embodiments, a new LCID can be used to identify the MAC CE, such as E-LCID.

Option 4B

The MAC CE includes indication information for a CSI report with sub-configuration (corresponding to the first CSI report in the aforementioned embodiment), but does not include indication information for a CSI report without sub-configuration (corresponding to the second CSI report in the aforementioned embodiment). Among them, the indication information for the CSI report with sub-configuration is used to indicate to the UE whether the CSI report with sub-configuration needs to be reported. In other words, the MAC CE can be used to indicate to the UE whether a CSI report with sub-configuration needs to be reported, but not to indicate to the UE whether a CSI report without sub-configuration needs to be reported.

As an implementation manner, if a CSI report has a sub-configuration, there may be more than one position whose value on the bitmap position corresponding to the sub-configuration is a specific value (such as 1).

In Scheme 4B, the length of the MAC CE may be, for example, a fixed length or a variable length.

In some embodiments, a new LCID can be used to identify the MAC CE, such as E-LCID.

In some embodiments, since the MAC CE does not include indication information for CSI reporting without sub-configuration, another MAC CE (corresponding to the second MAC CE in the aforementioned embodiment) may be used to carry at least indication information for CSI reporting with sub-configuration. The other MAC CE may be, for example, an existing MAC CE, such as: SP CSI reporting on PUCCH Activation/Deactivation MAC CE.

Examples of implementation methods of Solution 4A and Solution 4B are as follows:

See Table 2 and Table 3, which show examples of the reporting method of the network indicating the CSI report to the UE through the MAC CE. Among them, Table 2, for example, can be applied to Scheme 4A and Scheme 4B; Table 3, for example, can be applied to Scheme 4B.

Table 2

Table 3

In Table 2 and Table 3, R represents a reserved bit; Serving Cell ID is used to indicate the identifier of the serving cell applied by MAC CE; BWP ID is used to indicate the identifier of the UL BWP applied by MAC CE; S _i is used to indicate the activation/deactivation status of the semi-persistent CSI report configuration in csi-ReportConfigToAddModList; Ni _,x is used to indicate the activation/deactivation status of the semi-persistent CSI report subconfiguration (SubConfiguration) x in csi-ReportSubConfigList where CSI-ReportConfigId is i.

In some embodiments, S _i is used to indicate the activation/deactivation status of the semi-persistent CSI reporting configuration within csi-ReportConfigToAddModList. S ₀ refers to the report configuration which includes PUCCH resources for SP CSI reporting in the indicated BWP and has the lowest CSI-ReportConfigId within the list with type set to semi-PersistentOnPUCCH; S ₁ refers to _the report configuration which includes PUCCH resources for SP CSI reporting in the indicated BWP and has the second lowest CSI ReportConfigId, and so on.

If the number of report configurations in the list of type semi-PersistentOnPUCCH in the BWP is less than i+1, the MAC implements The entity should ignore the Si field. When the _Si field is set to 1, it is used to indicate that the corresponding semi-persistent CSI reporting configuration is activated; when the _Si field is set to 0, it is used to indicate that the corresponding semi-persistent CSI reporting configuration is deactivated. In some embodiments, if the _Si field is set to 1, the UE may further check Ni _,x . In some embodiments, if the _Si field is set to 0, the UE does not check Ni _,x , or considers that Ni _,x does not exist for this _Si . In some embodiments, if the Si field is set to 0, the corresponding Ni _,x field is not included. In some embodiments, if the _Si field is set to 0, the corresponding Ni _,x field is not included.

In some embodiments, Ni _,x is used to indicate the activation/deactivation status of the semi-persistent CSI reporting subconfiguration (SubConfiguration) x in the csi-ReportSubConfigList with CSI-ReportConfigId i.

In one possible approach, N _0,0 refers to the report SubConfiguration which includes PUCCH resources for the activated SP CSI reporting in the indicated BWP and has the lowest csi-ReportSubConfigID within the list with type set to csi-ReportSubConfigList; N _0,1 refers to the report SubConfiguration which includes PUCCH resources for the activated SP CSI reporting in the _indicated BWP and has the second lowest CSI ReportSubConfigID, and so on.

In one possible approach, N _0,0 refers to the reporting subconfiguration that includes the PUCCH resources for SP CSI reporting in the BWP and has the lowest CSI ReportSubConfigID in the list with type set to CSI ReportSubConfigList; N _0,1 refers to the reporting subconfiguration that includes the PUCCH resources for SP CSI reporting in the BWP and has the second lowest CSI ReportSubConfigID, and so on.

In some embodiments, if the number of report configurations in the list with type set to csi-ReportSubConfigList in the BWP is greater than 4, the MAC entity ignores the Ni _,x field.

In some embodiments, if the number of report configurations in the list with type set to csi-ReportSubConfigList in the BWP is greater than 4, the MAC entity ignores the N _i,x field where x is greater than or equal to 4.

Optionally, if the number of report configurations in the list with type set to csi-ReportSubConfigList in the BWP is less than x+1, the MAC entity shall ignore the Ni _,x field.

When the Ni _,x field is set to 1, it indicates that the corresponding sub-configuration x in the semi-persistent CSI report i is activated; when the Ni _,x field is set to 0, it indicates that the corresponding sub-configuration x in the semi-persistent CSI report i is deactivated.

According to the above technical solution, it is clarified how the network instructs the UE on the reporting method of the CSI report through MAC CE, and the design details of MAC CE are clarified.

FIG. 5 shows another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application, which may include:

S501, the terminal device receives fifth indication information from the network device; wherein the fifth indication information is used to indicate a first operation; or, the fifth indication information is used to indicate the first operation when a third condition is met.

In this embodiment, the network device may send the fifth indication information to the terminal device, and accordingly, the terminal device may receive the fifth indication information from the network device. The fifth indication information may be used to indicate the first operation; or the fifth indication information may be used to indicate the first operation when the third condition is met.

In some embodiments, the fifth indication information may be, for example, downlink control information (DCI) or MAC CE. The DCI may be, for example, a DCI of a specific RNTI (such as NES RNTI) or a specific DCI format (such as DCI format 2_9).

In some embodiments, the first operation may, for example, include at least one of the following: a source cell of the terminal device enters Network Energy Saving (NES); the terminal device executes Conditional Handover (CHO); the terminal device starts to execute CHO; and the terminal device evaluates the execution conditions of CHO.

In some embodiments, when the fifth indication information is used to indicate the first operation (that is, when the terminal device receives the fifth indication information, or when the terminal device receives the fifth indication information that satisfies the third condition), the method may further include: the terminal device executes CHO based on the fifth indication information; or, the terminal device starts to execute CHO based on the fifth indication information; or, the terminal device evaluates the execution condition of CHO based on the fifth indication information; or, the terminal device determines/believes that the candidate target cell satisfies the CHO switching condition; or, when the first CHO event (such as A3 or A4 or A5) is satisfied, the terminal device determines/believes that the candidate target cell satisfies the CHO switching condition; or, when the first CHO event is satisfied, the terminal device determines/believes that the CHO execution condition is satisfied; or, when the first CHO event is satisfied, the terminal device determines/believes that the CHO event is satisfied; or, when the first CHO event is satisfied, the terminal device determines/believes that the candidate target cell is a triggered cell.

In some embodiments, the method may also include: when the fifth indication information is used to indicate the first operation, within the first time period, the terminal device performs any of the following operations: the terminal device does not expect to receive new fifth indication information; the terminal device does not expect to receive new fifth indication information that does not meet the third condition; when the terminal device receives new fifth indication information, ignores the new fifth indication information; when the terminal device receives new fifth indication information that does not meet the third condition, ignores the new fifth indication information.

The first duration may be, for example, a timer duration.

In some embodiments, the starting time of the first duration is the time when the terminal device receives the fifth indication information; or The starting time is the time when the terminal device receives the fifth indication information that satisfies the third condition; or, the starting time of the first duration is the result of adding the time when the terminal device receives the fifth indication information and the first offset (that is, the starting time of the first duration = the time when the terminal device receives the fifth indication information + the first offset); or, the starting time of the first duration is the result of adding the time when the terminal device receives the fifth indication information that satisfies the third condition and the first offset (that is, the starting time of the first duration = the time when the terminal device receives the fifth indication information that satisfies the third condition + the first offset).

Among them, the first duration and/or the first offset, for example, may be predefined or preconfigured; or, the first duration and/or the first offset may be configured by the network device; or, the first duration and/or the first offset may be configured by the RRC; or, the first duration and/or the first offset are included in the fifth indication information. In other words, the first duration is predefined, preconfigured, configured by the network device, based on the radio resource control configuration, or included in the fifth indication information; the first offset is predefined, preconfigured, configured by the network device, based on the radio resource control configuration, or included in the fifth indication information.

In some embodiments, the method may further include: the network device sends new fifth indication information to the terminal device, the new fifth indication information is used to indicate the third operation, or the new fifth indication information is used to indicate the third operation when the third condition is not met.

In some embodiments, the third operation may, for example, include at least one of the following: the source cell of the terminal device leaves the NES; stops executing CHO; determines/considers that the candidate target cell does not meet the CHO switching conditions; determines/considers that the CHO execution conditions are not met; determines/considers that the CHO event is not met; determines/considers that the CHO execution conditions are not available; determines/considers that the candidate target cell is not a triggered cell; and stops CHO evaluation.

In some embodiments, when the terminal device receives new fifth indication information, or when the terminal device receives new fifth indication information that does not meet the third condition, the second operation may be performed.

In some embodiments, the second operation may, for example, include at least one of the following: stop executing CHO; stop CHO evaluation; delete CHO configuration; indicate CHO stop to the network device; indicate switching stop to the network device; determine/believe that the candidate target cell does not meet the CHO switching condition; determine/believe that the CHO execution condition is not met; determine/believe that the CHO event is not met; determine/believe that the candidate target cell is not a triggered cell; and determine/believe that the source cell leaves the NES.

In some embodiments, the second operation is performed, for example, after the first time period. That is, after the first time period, when the terminal device receives new fifth indication information, or when the terminal device receives new fifth indication information that does not meet the third condition, the second operation may be performed.

In some embodiments, the third condition may include, for example: indicating a specific value (that is, the first bit in the fifth indication information is set to a specific value). That is, when the fifth indication information (or new fifth indication information) indicates a specific value, it indicates that the fifth indication information (or new fifth indication information) satisfies the third condition, otherwise, it indicates that the fifth indication information (or new fifth indication information) does not satisfy the third condition.

As an example, the specific value may be 1. In this case, if the fifth indication information (or new fifth indication information) indicates 1, it indicates that the fifth indication information (or new fifth indication information) satisfies the third condition; if the fifth indication information (or new fifth indication information) indicates a non-specific value (such as 0), it indicates that the fifth indication information (or new fifth indication information) does not satisfy the third condition.

As another example, the specific value may be 0. In this case, if the fifth indication information (or new fifth indication information) indicates 0, it indicates that the fifth indication information (or new fifth indication information) satisfies the third condition; if the fifth indication information (or new fifth indication information) indicates a non-specific value (such as 1), it indicates that the fifth indication information (or new fifth indication information) does not satisfy the third condition.

In some embodiments, if a CHO event related to NES and a CHO event not related to NES are configured at the same time, if one of the CHO events is satisfied, the terminal device performs CHO. In some embodiments, the CHO event related to NES and the CHO event not related to NES are associated with the same CondReconfigId. That is, if the CHO event related to NES is satisfied (including receiving the fifth indication information, or receiving the fifth indication information that satisfies the third condition), the terminal device considers the target candidate cell to be a triggered cell, and/or performs CHO. If the CHO event not related to NES is satisfied, or the CHO event not related to NES is satisfied (regardless of whether the fifth indication information is received, or regardless of whether the fifth indication information that satisfies the third condition is received), the terminal device considers the target candidate cell to be a triggered cell, and/or performs CHO.

As an example, if one of the events associated to the measIds within condTriggerConfig for the target candidate cell in the stored condRRCReconfig is not associated with (or does not match) the nesEvent configuration and is satisfied, and another event associated with the measIds in the condTriggerConfig for the target candidate cell in the stored condRRCReconfig is configured with nesEvent (e.g., may or may not satisfy the measIDs associated with the nes event) (e.g., if one of the events associated to the measIds within condTriggerConfig for the target candidate cell in the stored condRRCReconfig is not associated with (or does not match) the nesEvent configuration and is satisfied, and another event associated with the measIds in the condTriggerConfig for the target candidate cell in the stored condRRCReconfig is configured with nesEvent (e.g., may or may not satisfy the measIDs associated with the nes event). a target candidate cell within the stored condRRCReconfig is not configured with nesEvent and fulfilled,and the other event associated to the measIds within condTriggerConfig for a target candidate cell within the stored condRRCReconfig is configured with nesEvent), then perform the following 1) or 2):

1) consider the target candidate cell within the stored condRRCReconfig, associated to that condReconfigId, as a triggered cell;

2) initiate the conditional reconfiguration execution (as specified in 5.3.5.13.5).

As another example, if one of the events associated to the measIds within condTriggerConfig for a target candidate cell in a stored condRRCReconfig is configured as nesEvent and satisfied, and another event associated to the measIds in condTriggerConfig for a target candidate cell in a stored condRRCReconfig is not configured or is not associated nesEvent. te cell within the stored condRRCReconfig is configured with nesEvent and fulfilled, and the other event associated to the measIds within condTriggerConfig for a target candidate cell within the stored condRRCReconfig is not configured with nesEvent), then perform the following 3) or 4):

3) consider the target candidate cell within the stored condRRCReconfig, associated to that condReconfigId, as a triggered cell;

4) initiate the conditional reconfiguration execution (as specified in 5.3.5.13.5).

According to the method of this embodiment, it is clarified how the terminal device uses the CHO switching command.

It should be noted that the methods shown in Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5 in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented individually, or two or more methods can be implemented in combination, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this.

The preferred embodiments of the present application are described in detail above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present application is not limited to the specific details in the above embodiments. Within the technical concept of the present application, the technical solution of the present application can be subjected to a variety of simple modifications, and these simple modifications all belong to the protection scope of the present application. For example, the various specific technical features described in the above specific embodiments can be combined in any suitable manner without contradiction. In order to avoid unnecessary repetition, the present application will not further explain various possible combinations. For another example, the various different embodiments of the present application can also be arbitrarily combined, as long as they do not violate the idea of the present application, they should also be regarded as the contents disclosed in the present application. For another example, under the premise of no conflict, the various embodiments and/or the technical features in the various embodiments described in the present application can be arbitrarily combined with the prior art, and the technical solution obtained after the combination should also fall within the protection scope of the present application.

It should also be understood that in various method embodiments of the present application, the size of the sequence number of each process does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiment of the present application. In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, the terms "downlink", "uplink" and "side" are used to indicate the transmission direction of the signal or data, wherein "downlink" is used to indicate that the transmission direction of the signal or data is the first direction sent from the site to the user equipment of the cell, "uplink" is used to indicate that the transmission direction of the signal or data is the second direction sent from the user equipment of the cell to the site, and "side" is used to indicate that the transmission direction of the signal or data is the third direction sent from user equipment 1 to user equipment 2. For example, "downlink signal" indicates that the transmission direction of the signal is the first direction. In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, the term "and/or" is only a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. Specifically, A and/or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character "/" in this article generally indicates that the front and back associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

Based on the foregoing embodiments, the embodiments of the present application provide corresponding communication devices.

FIG6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application, which is applied to a terminal device. As shown in FIG6 , the communication device 600 (hereinafter referred to as the device 600) includes:

The first acquisition unit 601 is configured to acquire a first timing advance TA between the device 600 and a first cell, where the first TA is used for the device 600 to perform uplink synchronization with the first cell; wherein the first cell is a secondary cell without synchronization signal block transmission.

In some embodiments, the first TA is included in first indication information from the network device, the first indication information is a response to first request information, and the first request information is used to request the first TA.

In some embodiments, the first indication information is any one of the following: a random access response; a timing advance command media access control control unit; and a downlink message carrying the first TA.

In some embodiments, the first request information is any one of the following: a scheduling request; uplink control information; an uplink media access control control unit; an uplink wireless resource control message; uplink resources of the first cell; and, uplink resources of the second cell, the second cell being a cell used for the device 600 to perform uplink synchronization with the first cell.

In some embodiments, the first TA is obtained through a random access process; wherein the random access process is performed by the device 600 on the first cell or the second cell; and the second cell is a cell used for the device 600 to perform uplink synchronization with the first cell.

In some embodiments, the first TA is determined based on a second TA between the apparatus 600 and a second cell; the second cell is a cell used for the apparatus 600 to perform uplink synchronization with the first cell.

In some embodiments, the second TA is included in second indication information from the network device, the second indication information is a response to second request information, and the second request information is used to request the second TA.

In some embodiments, the second indication information is any one of the following: a random access response; a timing advance command media access control control unit; and a downlink message carrying a second TA.

In some embodiments, the second request information is any one of the following: scheduling request; uplink control information; uplink media access control control unit; uplink radio resource control message; uplink resources of the first cell; and, uplink resources of the second cell.

In some embodiments, the second TA is obtained through a random access procedure; wherein the random access procedure is performed by the apparatus 600 on the first cell or the second cell.

In some embodiments, the apparatus 600 further includes: a second acquisition unit configured to acquire configuration information of a first reference signal, where the first reference signal is a reference signal of the first cell or a reference signal of the second cell, and the first reference signal is used to perform a random access process.

In some embodiments, the type of the reference signal of the first cell is a tracking reference signal or a channel state information reference signal; the type of the reference signal of the second cell is any one of a synchronization signal block, a tracking reference signal, and a channel state information reference signal.

In some embodiments, the type of the first reference signal is indicated by the network device.

In some embodiments, the second cell is indicated by the network device; or, the second cell is preconfigured by the apparatus 600; or, the second cell is preconfigured by the network device; or, the second cell is predefined; or, the second cell is determined by the apparatus 600.

In some embodiments, the second cell is determined by the device 600 based on first information from a network device, the first information including at least one of the following: location information of the network device; location information of a network device adjacent to the network device; location information of a third cell included in the network device, the third cell being the cell where the device 600 is located; location information of a cell adjacent to the third cell; co-site information between various network devices; co-site information between various cells; quasi-co-site information between reference signals; quasi-co-site information between channels; and positioning information.

In some embodiments, the second cell is indicated by the network device through third indication information; the third indication information includes: the frequency point and/or cell identifier of the second cell.

In some embodiments, the third indication information is configured under the first condition.

In some embodiments, the first cell and the second cell belong to the same timing advance group and/or cell group.

In some embodiments, the timing advance group and/or cell group is determined by the network device based on second information, and the second information includes at least one of the following: measurement results of the reference signal; positioning information; movement trajectory information of the device 600; location information of the network device; location information of network devices adjacent to the network device; location information of a third cell included in the network device, the third cell being the cell where the device 600 is located; location information of cells adjacent to the third cell; co-site information between various network devices; and co-site information between various cells.

In some embodiments, the second cell is activated by the apparatus 600 instructed by the network device; or, the second cell is activated by the apparatus 600 under the second condition.

In some embodiments, the second condition includes at least one of the following: the deactivation timer of the second cell times out; the deactivation timer of the second cell needs to be started; the deactivation timer of the second cell needs to be restarted; indication information for indicating the second cell is obtained; a reference signal of the second cell is obtained; uplink synchronization or downlink synchronization with the first cell is performed; the configuration of the first cell is obtained; the first cell is activated; and the first cell needs to be activated.

In some embodiments, the first TA is determined based on an uplink data signal of the first cell.

FIG. 7 is a second schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application, which is applied to a network device. As shown in FIG. 7 , the communication device 700 (hereinafter referred to as the device 700) includes:

The first sending unit 701 is configured to send fourth indication information to the terminal device, the fourth indication information including a first timing advance TA between the terminal device and the first cell, and/or a second TA between the terminal device and the second cell, the second cell is a cell used for the terminal device to perform uplink synchronization with the first cell, the second TA is used to determine the first TA, and the first TA is used for the terminal device to perform uplink synchronization with the first cell; wherein the first cell is a secondary cell without synchronization signal block transmission.

In some embodiments, the fourth indication information is a response to the third request information, where the third request information is used to request the first TA and/or the second TA.

In some embodiments, the fourth indication information is any one of the following: a random access response; a timing advance command media access control control unit; and a downlink message carrying the first TA and/or the second TA.

In some embodiments, the third request information is any one of the following: a scheduling request; uplink control information; an uplink media access control control unit; an uplink radio resource control message; an uplink resource of the first cell; and an uplink resource of the second cell.

In some embodiments, the fourth indication information is a random access response sent to the terminal device during a random access procedure, and the random access procedure is performed by the terminal device on the first cell or the second cell.

In some embodiments, the apparatus 700 further includes: a second sending unit configured to send configuration information of a first reference signal to the terminal device, the first reference signal being a reference signal of the first cell or a reference signal of the second cell, and the first reference signal being used to perform a random access process.

In some embodiments, the type of the reference signal of the first cell is a tracking reference signal or a channel state information reference signal; the type of the reference signal of the second cell is any one of a synchronization signal block, a tracking reference signal, and a channel state information reference signal.

In some embodiments, the type of the first reference signal is indicated by the apparatus 700 .

In some embodiments, the second cell is indicated by the apparatus 700; or, the second cell is preconfigured by the terminal device; or, the second cell is preconfigured by the apparatus 700; or, the second cell is predefined; or, the second cell is determined by the terminal device.

In some embodiments, the second cell is determined based on the first information, and the first information includes at least one of the following: location information of the device 700; location information of a network device adjacent to the device 700; location information of a third cell included in the device 700, the third cell being the cell where the terminal device is located; location information of a cell adjacent to the third cell; co-site information between various network devices; co-site information between various cells; quasi-co-site information between reference signals; quasi-co-site information between channels; and positioning information.

In some embodiments, the second cell is indicated by the apparatus 700 through third indication information; the third indication information includes: a frequency point and/or a cell identifier of the second cell.

In some embodiments, the third indication information is configured under the first condition.

In some embodiments, the first cell and the second cell belong to the same timing advance group and/or cell group.

In some embodiments, the timing advance group and/or cell group is determined by the device 700 based on second information, and the second information includes at least one of the following: measurement results of reference signals; positioning information; movement trajectory information of the terminal device; location information of the device 700; location information of network devices adjacent to the device 700; location information of a third cell included in the device 700, the third cell being the cell where the terminal device is located; location information of cells adjacent to the third cell; co-site information between various network devices; and co-site information between various cells.

In some embodiments, the second cell is activated by the terminal device as instructed by the apparatus 700; or, the second cell is activated by the terminal device under the second condition.

In some embodiments, the second condition includes at least one of the following: the deactivation timer of the second cell times out; the deactivation timer of the second cell needs to be started; the deactivation timer of the second cell needs to be restarted; indication information for indicating the second cell is obtained; a reference signal of the second cell is obtained; uplink synchronization or downlink synchronization with the first cell is performed; the configuration of the first cell is obtained; the first cell is activated; and the first cell needs to be activated.

FIG8 is a third schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application, which is applied to a terminal device. As shown in FIG8 , the communication device 800 (hereinafter referred to as the device 800) includes:

The first receiving unit 801 is configured to receive a reference signal of a second cell or a downlink data signal of a first cell, where the reference signal or the downlink data signal is used for the device 800 to perform downlink synchronization or downlink timing with the first cell; wherein the second cell is a cell used for the device 800 to perform downlink synchronization or downlink timing with the first cell, and the first cell is a secondary cell without synchronization signal block transmission.

In some embodiments, the type of the reference signal is any one of a synchronization signal block, a tracking reference signal, and a channel state information reference signal.

In some embodiments, at least part of the configuration information of the reference signal is indicated by the network device; and/or, at least part of the configuration information of the reference signal is read by the apparatus 800 from the second cell.

In some embodiments, when the reference signal is used for the apparatus 800 to perform downlink synchronization or downlink timing with the first cell, the type of the reference signal is indicated by the network device.

In some embodiments, the second cell is indicated by the network device; or, the second cell is preconfigured by the apparatus 800; or, the second cell is preconfigured by the network device; or, the second cell is predefined; or, the second cell is determined by the apparatus 800.

In some embodiments, the second cell is determined based on the first information, and the first information includes at least one of the following: location information of the network device; location information of a network device adjacent to the network device; location information of a third cell included in the network device, the third cell being the cell where the device 800 is located; location information of a cell adjacent to the third cell; co-site information between each network device; co-site information between each cell; quasi-co-site information between reference signals; quasi-co-site information between channels; and positioning information.

In some embodiments, the second cell is indicated by the network device through third indication information; the third indication information includes: the frequency point and/or cell identifier of the second cell.

In some embodiments, the third indication information is configured under the first condition.

In some embodiments, the first cell and the second cell belong to the same timing advance group and/or cell group.

In some embodiments, the timing advance group and/or cell group is determined by the network device based on second information, and the second information includes at least one of the following: measurement results of the reference signal; positioning information; movement trajectory information of the device 800; location information of the network device; location information of adjacent network devices of the network device; location information of a third cell included in the network device, the third cell being the cell where the device 800 is located; location information of cells adjacent to the third cell; co-site information between various network devices; and, co-site information between various cells.

In some embodiments, the second cell is activated by the apparatus 800 instructing the network device to do so; or, the second cell is activated by the apparatus 800 under a second condition.

In some embodiments, the second condition includes at least one of the following: the deactivation timer of the second cell times out; the deactivation timer of the second cell needs to be started; the deactivation timer of the second cell needs to be restarted; the indication information for indicating the second cell is obtained; the reference signal of the second cell is obtained; uplink synchronization or downlink synchronization with the first cell is performed; the configuration of the first cell is obtained; and the first cell is activated active or needs to be activated.

FIG. 9 is a fourth schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application, which is applied to a network device. As shown in FIG. 9 , the communication device 900 (hereinafter referred to as the device 900) includes:

The second sending unit 901 is configured to send a reference signal of the second cell or a downlink data signal of the first cell to the terminal device, where the reference signal or the downlink data signal is used for the terminal device to perform downlink synchronization or downlink timing with the first cell; wherein the second cell is a cell used for the terminal device to perform downlink synchronization or downlink timing with the first cell, and the first cell is a secondary cell without synchronization signal block transmission.

In some embodiments, the type of the reference signal is any one of a synchronization signal block, a tracking reference signal, and a channel state information reference signal.

In some embodiments, at least part of the configuration information of the reference signal used for the terminal device to perform downlink synchronization or downlink timing with the first cell is indicated by the device 900; and/or, at least part of the configuration information of the reference signal used for the terminal device to perform downlink synchronization or downlink timing with the first cell is read by the terminal device from the second cell.

In some embodiments, when the reference signal is used for the terminal device to perform downlink synchronization or downlink timing with the first cell, the type of the reference signal is indicated by the apparatus 900 .

In some embodiments, the second cell is indicated by the apparatus 900; or, the second cell is preconfigured by the terminal device or the apparatus 900; or, the second cell is predefined; or, the second cell is determined by the terminal device.

In some embodiments, the second cell is determined based on the first information, and the first information includes at least one of the following: location information of the device 900; location information of a network device adjacent to the device 900; location information of a third cell included in the device 900, the third cell being the cell where the terminal device is located; location information of a cell adjacent to the third cell; co-site information between various network devices; co-site information between various cells; quasi-co-site information between reference signals; quasi-co-site information between channels; and positioning information.

In some embodiments, the second cell is indicated by the apparatus 900 through third indication information; the third indication information includes: a frequency point and/or a cell identifier of the second cell.

In some embodiments, the third indication information is configured under the first condition.

In some embodiments, the first cell and the second cell belong to the same timing advance group and/or cell group.

In some embodiments, the timing advance group and/or cell group is determined by the device 900 based on second information, and the second information includes at least one of the following: measurement results of reference signals; positioning information; movement trajectory information of the terminal device; location information of the device 900; location information of adjacent network devices of the device 900; location information of a third cell included in the device 900, where the third cell is where the terminal device is located; location information of cells adjacent to the third cell; co-site information between various network devices; and co-site information between various cells.

In some embodiments, the second cell is activated by the terminal device as instructed by the apparatus 900; or, the second cell is activated by the terminal device under the second condition.

In some embodiments, the second condition includes at least one of the following: the deactivation timer of the second cell times out; the deactivation timer of the second cell needs to be started; the deactivation timer of the second cell needs to be restarted; indication information for indicating the second cell is obtained; a reference signal of the second cell is obtained; uplink synchronization or downlink synchronization with the first cell is performed; the configuration of the first cell is obtained; the first cell is activated; and the first cell needs to be activated.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application, which is applied to a terminal device. As shown in FIG. 10 , the communication device 1000 (hereinafter referred to as the device 1000) includes:

The second receiving unit 1001 is configured to receive a first media access control control unit MAC CE from a network device, where the first MAC CE is used to indicate a reporting method of a first CSI report with a sub-reporting configuration.

In some embodiments, the first MAC CE includes indications or positions of multiple sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the first CSI report, and when the indications or positions of any of the sub-reporting configurations are set to activated, the first MAC CE instructs device 1000 to report the first CSI report.

In some embodiments, when the first MAC CE indication device 1000 reports the first CSI report, among the indications or positions of multiple sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the first CSI report, the number of indications or positions of sub-reporting configurations set to be activated is greater than 1.

In some embodiments, for each sub-reporting configuration of multiple sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the first CSI report, when the indication or position of the sub-reporting configuration is set to activated, the first MAC CE is also used to instruct device 1000 to report the sub-report corresponding to the sub-reporting configuration in the first CSI report.

In some embodiments, the first MAC CE is also used to indicate the reporting method of the second CSI report without sub-reporting configuration.

In some embodiments, the first MAC CE includes indications or positions of multiple sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the second CSI report, and when the indications or positions of any of the sub-reporting configurations are set to activated, the first MAC CE instructs device 1000 to report the second CSI report.

In some embodiments, when the first MAC CE indication device 1000 reports the second CSI report, among the indications or positions of multiple sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the second CSI report, the number of indications or positions of sub-reporting configurations set to be activated is 1.

In some embodiments, the length of the first MAC CE is fixed.

In some embodiments, the first MAC CE is not used to indicate the reporting mode of the second CSI report without sub-reporting configuration.

In some embodiments, the second CSI report is indicated by a second MAC CE.

In some embodiments, the length of the first MAC CE is fixed or variable.

FIG. 11 is a sixth structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application, which is applied to a network device. As shown in FIG. 11 , a communication device 1100 (hereinafter referred to as device 1100 ) includes:

The third sending unit 1101 is configured to send a first media access control control unit MAC CE to the terminal device, and the first MAC CE is used to indicate a reporting method of a first CSI report with a sub-reporting configuration.

In some embodiments, the first MAC CE includes indications or positions of multiple sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the first CSI report, and when the indications or positions of any of the sub-reporting configurations are set to activated, the first MAC CE instructs the terminal device to report the first CSI report.

In some embodiments, when the first MAC CE indicates that the terminal device reports the first CSI report, among the indications or positions of multiple sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the first CSI report, the number of indications or positions of sub-reporting configurations set to be activated is greater than 1.

In some embodiments, for each sub-reporting configuration of multiple sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the first CSI report, when the indication or position of the sub-reporting configuration is set to activated, the first MAC CE is also used to instruct the terminal device to report the sub-reporting report corresponding to the sub-reporting configuration in the first CSI report.

In some embodiments, the first MAC CE is also used to indicate the reporting method of the second CSI report without sub-reporting configuration.

In some embodiments, the first MAC CE includes indications or positions of multiple sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the second CSI report, and when the indications or positions of any of the sub-reporting configurations are set to activated, the first MAC CE instructs the terminal device to report the second CSI report.

In some embodiments, when the first MAC CE indicates that the terminal device reports a second CSI report, among the indications or positions of multiple sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the second CSI report, the number of indications or positions of sub-reporting configurations set to be activated is 1.

In some embodiments, the length of the first MAC CE is fixed.

In some embodiments, the first MAC CE is not used to indicate the reporting method of the second CSI report without sub-reporting configuration.

In some embodiments, the second CSI report is indicated by a second MAC CE.

In some embodiments, the length of the first MAC CE is fixed or variable.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application, which is applied to a terminal device. As shown in FIG. 12 , the communication device 1200 (hereinafter referred to as the device 1200 ) includes:

The third receiving unit 1201 is configured to receive fifth indication information from the network device; wherein the fifth indication information is used to indicate the first operation; or, the fifth indication information is used to indicate the first operation when the third condition is met; the first operation includes at least one of the following: the source cell of the device 1200 enters the network energy saving NES; the device 1200 executes the conditional switching CHO; the device 1200 starts to execute CHO; and the device 1200 evaluates the execution conditions of CHO.

In some embodiments, the device 1200 also includes: a first processing unit, configured to, when the fifth indication information is used to indicate the first operation, execute CHO based on the fifth indication information; start executing CHO based on the fifth indication information; or, based on the fifth indication information, evaluate the execution condition of CHO; or, determine that the candidate target cell satisfies the CHO switching condition; or, when the first CHO event is satisfied, determine that the candidate target cell satisfies the CHO switching condition; or, when the first CHO event is satisfied, determine that the CHO execution condition is satisfied; or, when the first CHO event is satisfied, determine that the CHO event is satisfied; or, when the first CHO event is satisfied, determine that the candidate target cell is a triggered cell.

In some embodiments, the device 1200 also includes: a second processing unit, configured to, when the fifth indication information is used to indicate the first operation, within a first time period, the device 1200 does not expect to receive new fifth indication information; or, within the first time period, the device 1200 does not expect to receive new fifth indication information that does not meet the third condition; or, within the first time period, when the device 1200 receives new fifth indication information, ignore the new fifth indication information; or, within the first time period, when the device 1200 receives new fifth indication information that does not meet the third condition, ignore the new fifth indication information.

In some embodiments, the starting moment of the first time length is the moment when the device 1200 receives the fifth indication information; or, the starting moment of the first time length is the moment when the device 1200 receives the fifth indication information that satisfies the third condition; or, the starting moment of the first time length is the result of adding the moment when the device 1200 receives the fifth indication information and the first offset; or, the starting moment of the first time length is the result of adding the moment when the device 1200 receives the fifth indication information that satisfies the third condition and the first offset.

In some embodiments, the first duration is predefined, preconfigured, configured by the network device, based on the wireless resource control configuration, or included in the fifth indication information; the first offset is predefined, preconfigured, configured by the network device, based on the wireless resource control configuration, or included in the fifth indication information.

In some embodiments, the device 1200 also includes: a third processing unit, configured to perform a second operation when the device 1200 receives new fifth indication information, or when the device 1200 receives new fifth indication information that does not meet the third condition, the second operation includes at least one of the following: stop executing CHO; stop CHO evaluation; delete CHO configuration; indicate CHO stop to the network device; indicate switching stop to the network device; determine that the candidate target cell does not meet the CHO switching condition; determine that the CHO execution condition is not met; determine that the CHO event is not met; determine that the candidate target cell is not a triggered cell; and determine that the source cell leaves the NES.

In some embodiments, the apparatus 1200 further includes: a fourth processing unit configured to, after the first time period, receive a In the case of new fifth indication information, or in the case that the device 1200 receives new fifth indication information that does not meet the third condition, a second operation is performed, and the second operation includes at least one of the following: stop executing CHO; stop CHO evaluation; delete CHO configuration; indicate CHO stop to the network device; indicate switching stop to the network device; determine that the candidate target cell does not meet the CHO switching condition; determine that the CHO execution condition is not met; determine that the CHO event is not met; determine that the candidate target cell is not a triggered cell; and determine that the source cell leaves the NES.

In some embodiments, the new fifth indication signal is used to indicate a third operation, or the new fifth indication signal is used to indicate the third operation when the third condition is not met; the third operation includes at least one of the following: the source cell of the device 1200 leaves the NES; stops executing CHO; determines that the candidate target cell does not meet the CHO switching condition; determines that the CHO execution condition is not met; determines that the CHO event is not met; determines that the CHO execution condition is not available; determines that the candidate target cell is not a triggered cell; and stops CHO evaluation.

In some embodiments, the third condition includes: the first bit in the fifth indication information is set to a specific value.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application, which is applied to a network device. As shown in FIG. 13 , the communication device 1300 (hereinafter referred to as the device 1300 ) includes:

The fourth sending unit 1301 is configured to send fifth indication information to the terminal device; wherein the fifth indication information is used to indicate the first operation; or, the fifth indication information is used to indicate the first operation when the third condition is met; the first operation includes at least one of the following: the source cell of the terminal device enters the network energy saving NES; the terminal device executes the conditional switching CHO; the terminal device starts to execute the conditional switching CHO; and the terminal device evaluates the execution conditions of CHO.

In some embodiments, the apparatus 1200 further includes: a fifth sending unit, configured to send new fifth indication information to the terminal device, the new fifth indication information being used to indicate a third operation, or the new fifth indication information being used to indicate a third operation when the third condition is not met; the third operation includes at least one of the following: the source cell of the terminal device leaves the NES; stops executing CHO; determines that the candidate target cell does not meet the CHO switching condition; determines that the CHO execution condition is not met; determines that the CHO event is not met; determines that the CHO execution condition is not available; determines that the candidate target cell is not a triggered cell; and stops CHO evaluation.

In some embodiments, the third condition includes: the first bit in the fifth indication information is set to a specific value.

Those skilled in the art should understand that the relevant description of the above-mentioned communication device in the embodiment of the present application can be understood by referring to the relevant description of the communication method in the embodiment of the present application.

FIG14 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 1400 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device may be a terminal device or a network device. The communication device 1400 shown in FIG14 includes a processor 1410, which may call and run a computer program from a memory to implement the method in the embodiment of the present application.

Optionally, as shown in FIG14 , the communication device 1400 may further include a memory 1420. The processor 1410 may call and run a computer program from the memory 1420 to implement the method in the embodiment of the present application.

The memory 1420 may be a separate device independent of the processor 1410 , or may be integrated into the processor 1410 .

Optionally, as shown in FIG. 14 , the communication device 1400 may further include a transceiver 1430 , and the processor 1410 may control the transceiver 1430 to communicate with other devices, specifically, may send information or data to other devices, or receive information or data sent by other devices.

The transceiver 1430 may include a transmitter and a receiver. The transceiver 1430 may further include an antenna, and the number of the antennas may be one or more.

Optionally, the communication device 1400 may specifically be a network device of an embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 1400 may implement corresponding processes implemented by the network device in each method of the embodiment of the present application, which will not be described in detail here for the sake of brevity.

Optionally, the communication device 1400 may specifically be a terminal device of an embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 1400 may implement the corresponding processes implemented by the terminal device in each method of the embodiment of the present application, which will not be described in detail here for the sake of brevity.

Optionally, the transceiver 1430 can be the first acquisition unit 601 in the device 600, the first sending unit 701 in the device 700, the first receiving unit 801 in the device 800, the second sending unit 901 in the device 900, the second receiving unit 1001 in the device 1000, the third sending unit 1101 in the device 1100, the third receiving unit 1201 in the device 1200, or the fourth sending unit 1301 in the device 1300.

Optionally, the processor 1410 may be, for example, the first acquisition unit 601 in the device 600 .

Fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip according to an embodiment of the present application. The chip 1500 shown in Fig. 15 includes a processor 1510, and the processor 1510 can call and run a computer program from a memory to implement the method according to the embodiment of the present application.

Optionally, as shown in FIG15 , the chip 1500 may further include a memory 1520. The processor 1510 may call and run a computer program from the memory 1520 to implement the method in the embodiment of the present application.

The memory 1520 may be a separate device independent of the processor 1510 , or may be integrated into the processor 1510 .

Optionally, the chip 1500 may further include an input interface 1530. The processor 1510 may control the input interface 1530 to communicate with other devices or chips, and specifically, may obtain information or data sent by other devices or chips.

Optionally, the chip 1500 may further include an output interface 1540. The processor 1510 may control the output interface 1540 to communicate with other devices or chips, and specifically, may output information or data to other devices or chips.

Optionally, the chip can be applied to the network device in the embodiments of the present application, and the chip can implement the corresponding processes implemented by the network device in each method of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

Optionally, the chip can be applied to the terminal device in the embodiments of the present application, and the chip can implement the corresponding processes implemented by the terminal device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can also be called a system-level chip, a system chip, a chip system or a system-on-chip chip, etc.

The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer storage medium, which stores one or more programs. The one or more programs can be executed by one or more processors to implement the method in the embodiments of the present application.

FIG16 is a schematic block diagram of a communication system 1600 provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG16 , the communication system 1600 includes a terminal device 1610 and a network device 1620 .

Among them, the terminal device 1610 can be used to implement the corresponding functions implemented by the terminal device in the above method, and the network device 1620 can be used to implement the corresponding functions implemented by the network device in the above method. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

It should be understood that the processor of the embodiment of the present application may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the above method embodiment can be completed by the hardware integrated logic circuit in the processor or the instruction in the form of software. The above processor can be a general processor, a digital signal processor (Digital Signal Processor, DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (Application Specific Integrated Circuit, ASIC), a field programmable gate array (Field Programmable Gate Array, FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components. The methods, steps and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiment of the present application can be directly embodied as a hardware decoding processor to execute, or the hardware and software modules in the decoding processor can be executed. The software module can be located in a mature storage medium in the field such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and completes the steps of the above method in combination with its hardware.

It can be understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application can be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or can include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as Static RAM (SRAM), Dynamic RAM (DRAM), Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), Double Data Rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), Enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and Direct Rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

It should be understood that the above-mentioned memory is exemplary but not restrictive. For example, the memory in the embodiment of the present application may also be static random access memory (static RAM, SRAM), dynamic random access memory (dynamic RAM, DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (synchronous DRAM, SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (double data rate SDRAM, DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (enhanced SDRAM, ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (synch link DRAM, SLDRAM) and direct memory bus random access memory (Direct Rambus RAM, DR RAM), etc. That is to say, the memory in the embodiment of the present application is intended to include but not limited to these and any other suitable types of memory.

An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program.

Optionally, the computer-readable storage medium can be applied to the network device in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program enables the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the network device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they are not repeated here.

Optionally, the computer-readable storage medium can be applied to the terminal device in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program enables the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the terminal device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they are not repeated here.

An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, including computer program instructions.

Optionally, the computer program product can be applied to the network device in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program instructions enable the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the network device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they are not repeated here.

Optionally, the computer program product can be applied to the terminal device in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program instructions enable the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the terminal device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they are not repeated here.

The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program.

Optionally, the computer program can be applied to the network device in the embodiments of the present application. When the computer program runs on a computer, the computer executes the corresponding processes implemented by the network device in the various methods in the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they are not described here.

Optionally, the computer program can be applied to the terminal device in the embodiments of the present application. When the computer program runs on the computer, the computer executes the corresponding processes implemented by the terminal device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they are not repeated here.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application can be essentially or partly embodied in the form of a software product that contributes to the prior art. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the methods described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage media include: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), disk or optical disk, and other media that can store program codes.

The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art who is familiar with the present technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims (107)

A communication method, applied to a terminal device, comprising: Acquire a first timing advance TA between the terminal device and the first cell, where the first TA is used for the terminal device to perform uplink synchronization with the first cell; The first cell is a secondary cell without synchronization signal block transmission. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first TA is included in first indication information from a network device, the first indication information is a response to first request information, and the first request information is used to request the first TA. The method according to claim 2, wherein the first indication information is any one of the following: Random access response; a timing advance command media access control control unit; and, A downlink message carrying the first TA. The method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the first request information is any one of the following: Scheduling requests; Uplink control information; Uplink media access control control unit; Uplink radio resource control message; uplink resources of the first cell; and The uplink resources of the second cell, where the second cell is a cell used for the terminal device to perform uplink synchronization with the first cell. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first TA is obtained through a random access process; The random access process is performed by the terminal device on the first cell or the second cell; the second cell is a cell used for the terminal device to perform uplink synchronization with the first cell. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first TA is determined based on a second TA between the terminal device and a second cell; the second cell is a cell used for the terminal device to perform uplink synchronization with the first cell. The method according to claim 6, wherein The second TA is included in second indication information from the network device, the second indication information is a response to second request information, and the second request information is used to request the second TA. The method according to claim 7, wherein the second indication information is any one of the following: Random access response; a timing advance command media access control control unit; and, A downlink message carrying the second TA. The method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the second request information is any one of the following: Scheduling requests; Uplink control information; Uplink media access control control unit; Uplink radio resource control message; uplink resources of the first cell; and The uplink resources of the second cell. The method according to claim 6, wherein The second TA is obtained through a random access process; The random access process is performed by the terminal device on the first cell or the second cell. The method according to claim 5 or 10, wherein the method further comprises: Configuration information of a first reference signal is acquired, where the first reference signal is a reference signal of the first cell or a reference signal of the second cell, and the first reference signal is used to perform the random access process. The method according to claim 11, wherein A type of the reference signal of the first cell is a tracking reference signal or a channel state information reference signal; The type of the reference signal of the second cell is any one of a synchronization signal block, a tracking reference signal, and a channel state information reference signal. The method according to claim 11 or 12, wherein The type of the first reference signal is indicated by a network device. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 13, wherein The second cell is indicated by the network device; or, The second cell is preconfigured by the terminal device; or, The second cell is preconfigured by the network device; or, The second cell is predefined; or, The second cell is determined by the terminal device. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 13, wherein The second cell is determined based on first information, where the first information includes at least one of the following: location information of the network device; Location information of network devices adjacent to the network device; The location information of a third cell included in the network device, where the third cell is the cell where the terminal device is located; location information of cells adjacent to the third cell; Co-site information between various network devices; Co-site information between various cells; Quasi-co-location information between reference signals; Quasi-co-location information between channels; and, Positioning information. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 13, wherein The second cell is indicated by the network device through third indication information; The third indication information includes: the frequency point and/or cell identifier of the second cell. The method according to claim 16, wherein The third indication information is configured under the first condition. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 17, wherein The first cell and the second cell belong to the same timing advance group and/or cell group. The method according to claim 18, wherein The timing advance group and/or the cell group is determined by the network device based on second information, where the second information includes at least one of the following: Measurement results of reference signals; Location information; Movement trajectory information of the terminal device; location information of the network device; Location information of network devices adjacent to the network device; The location information of a third cell included in the network device, where the third cell is the cell where the terminal device is located; location information of cells adjacent to the third cell; Co-location information between various network devices; and, Co-site information between cells. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 19, wherein The second cell is activated by the terminal device instructed by the network device; or, The second cell is activated by the terminal device under a second condition. The method according to claim 20, wherein the second condition comprises at least one of the following: A deactivation timer of the second cell times out; The deactivation timer of the second cell needs to be started; The deactivation timer of the second cell needs to be restarted; Acquire indication information used to indicate the second cell; acquiring a reference signal of the second cell; performing uplink synchronization or downlink synchronization with the first cell; Acquire the configuration of the first cell; The first cell is activated; and, The first cell needs to be activated. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first TA is determined based on an uplink data signal of the first cell. A communication method, applied to a network device, comprising: Sending fourth indication information to the terminal device, the fourth indication information including a first timing advance TA between the terminal device and the first cell, and/or a second TA between the terminal device and the second cell, the second cell being a cell used for the terminal device to perform uplink synchronization with the first cell, the second TA being used to determine the first TA, and the first TA being used for the terminal device to perform uplink synchronization with the first cell; The first cell is a secondary cell without synchronization signal block transmission. The method according to claim 23, wherein The fourth indication information is a response to third request information, where the third request information is used to request the first TA and/or the second TA. The method according to claim 24, wherein the fourth indication information is any one of the following: Random access response; a timing advance command media access control control unit; and, A downlink message carrying the first TA and/or the second TA. The method according to claim 24 or 25, wherein the third request information is any one of the following: Scheduling requests; Uplink control information; Uplink media access control control unit; Uplink radio resource control message; uplink resources of the first cell; and The uplink resources of the second cell. The method according to claim 23, wherein The fourth indication information is a random access response sent to the terminal device during a random access procedure, and the random access procedure is performed by the terminal device on the first cell or the second cell. The method according to claim 27, wherein the method further comprises: Configuration information of a first reference signal is sent to the terminal device, where the first reference signal is a reference signal of the first cell or a reference signal of the second cell, and the first reference signal is used to perform the random access process. The method according to claim 28, wherein A type of the reference signal of the first cell is a tracking reference signal or a channel state information reference signal; The type of the reference signal of the second cell is any one of a synchronization signal block, a tracking reference signal, and a channel state information reference signal. The method according to claim 28 or 29, wherein The type of the first reference signal is indicated by the network device. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 30, wherein The second cell is indicated by the network device; or, The second cell is preconfigured by the terminal device; or, The second cell is preconfigured by the network device; or, The second cell is predefined; or, The second cell is determined by the terminal device. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 30, wherein The second cell is determined based on first information, where the first information includes at least one of the following: location information of the network device; Location information of network devices adjacent to the network device; The location information of a third cell included in the network device, where the third cell is the cell where the terminal device is located; location information of cells adjacent to the third cell; Co-site information between various network devices; Co-site information between various cells; Quasi-co-location information between reference signals; Quasi-co-location information between channels; and, Positioning information. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 30, wherein The second cell is indicated by the network device through third indication information; The third indication information includes: the frequency point and/or cell identifier of the second cell. The method according to claim 33, wherein The third indication information is configured under the first condition. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 34, wherein The first cell and the second cell belong to the same timing advance group and/or cell group. The method according to claim 35, wherein The timing advance group and/or the cell group is determined by the network device based on second information, where the second information includes at least one of the following: Measurement results of reference signals; Location information; Movement trajectory information of the terminal device; location information of the network device; Location information of network devices adjacent to the network device; The location information of a third cell included in the network device, where the third cell is the cell where the terminal device is located; location information of cells adjacent to the third cell; Co-location information between various network devices; and, Co-site information between cells. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 36, wherein The second cell is activated by the terminal device instructed by the network device; or, The second cell is activated by the terminal device under a second condition. The method according to claim 37, wherein the second condition comprises at least one of the following: A deactivation timer of the second cell times out; The deactivation timer of the second cell needs to be started The deactivation timer of the second cell needs to be restarted; Acquire indication information used to indicate the second cell; acquiring a reference signal of the second cell; performing uplink synchronization or downlink synchronization with the first cell; Acquire the configuration of the first cell; The first cell is activated; and, The first cell needs to be activated. A communication method, applied to a terminal device, comprising: receiving a reference signal of a second cell or a downlink data signal of a first cell, wherein the reference signal or the downlink data signal is used for the terminal device to perform downlink synchronization or downlink timing with the first cell; The second cell is a cell used for the terminal device to perform downlink synchronization or downlink timing with the first cell, and the first cell is a secondary cell without synchronization signal block transmission. The method according to claim 39, wherein The type of the reference signal is any one of a synchronization signal block, a tracking reference signal, and a channel state information reference signal. The method according to claim 39 or 40, wherein At least part of the configuration information of the reference signal is indicated by the network device; and/or, At least part of the configuration information of the reference signal is read by the terminal device from the second cell. The method according to any one of claims 39 to 41, wherein In the case where the reference signal is used for the terminal device to perform downlink synchronization or downlink timing with the first cell, the type of the reference signal is indicated by a network device. The method according to any one of claims 39 to 42, wherein The second cell is indicated by the network device; or, The second cell is preconfigured by the terminal device; or, The second cell is preconfigured by the network device; or, The second cell is predefined; or, The second cell is determined by the terminal device. The method according to any one of claims 39 to 42, wherein The second cell is determined based on first information, where the first information includes at least one of the following: location information of the network device; Location information of network devices adjacent to the network device; The location information of a third cell included in the network device, where the third cell is the cell where the terminal device is located; location information of cells adjacent to the third cell; Co-site information between various network devices; Co-site information between various cells; Quasi-co-location information between reference signals; Quasi-co-location information between channels; and, Positioning information. The method according to any one of claims 39 to 42, wherein The second cell is indicated by the network device through third indication information; The third indication information includes: the frequency point and/or cell identifier of the second cell. The method according to claim 45, wherein The third indication information is configured under the first condition. The method according to any one of claims 39 to 46, wherein The first cell and the second cell belong to the same timing advance group and/or cell group. The method according to claim 47, wherein The timing advance group and/or the cell group is determined by the network device based on second information, where the second information includes at least one of the following: Measurement results of reference signals; Location information; Movement trajectory information of the terminal device; location information of the network device; Location information of network devices adjacent to the network device; The location information of a third cell included in the network device, where the third cell is the cell where the terminal device is located; location information of cells adjacent to the third cell; Co-location information between various network devices; and, Co-site information between cells. The method according to any one of claims 39 to 48, wherein The second cell is activated by the terminal device instructed by the network device; or, The second cell is activated by the terminal device under a second condition. The method according to claim 49, wherein the second condition comprises at least one of the following: A deactivation timer of the second cell times out; The deactivation timer of the second cell needs to be started; The deactivation timer of the second cell needs to be restarted; Acquire indication information used to indicate the second cell; acquiring a reference signal of the second cell; performing uplink synchronization or downlink synchronization with the first cell; acquiring the configuration of the first cell; and, The first cell is activated or needs to be activated. A communication method, applied to a network device, comprising: Sending a reference signal of a second cell or a downlink data signal of a first cell to a terminal device, wherein the reference signal or the downlink data signal is used for the terminal device to perform downlink synchronization or downlink timing with the first cell; The second cell is a cell used for the terminal device to perform downlink synchronization or downlink timing with the first cell, and the first cell is a secondary cell without synchronization signal block transmission. The method according to claim 51, wherein The type of the reference signal is any one of a synchronization signal block, a tracking reference signal, and a channel state information reference signal. The method according to claim 51 or 52, wherein At least part of the configuration information of the reference signal used for the terminal device to perform downlink synchronization or downlink timing with the first cell is indicated by the network device; and/or, At least part of the configuration information of the reference signal used for the terminal device to perform downlink synchronization or downlink timing with the first cell is read by the terminal device from the second cell. The method according to any one of claims 51 to 53, wherein In the case where the reference signal is used for the terminal device to perform downlink synchronization or downlink timing with the first cell, the type of the reference signal is indicated by the network device. The method according to any one of claims 51 to 54, wherein The second cell is indicated by the network device; or, The second cell is preconfigured by the terminal device; or, The second cell is preconfigured by the network device; or, The second cell is predefined; or, The second cell is determined by the terminal device. The method according to any one of claims 51 to 54, wherein The second cell is determined based on first information, where the first information includes at least one of the following: location information of the network device; Location information of network devices adjacent to the network device; The location information of a third cell included in the network device, where the third cell is the cell where the terminal device is located; location information of cells adjacent to the third cell; Co-site information between various network devices; Co-site information between various cells; Quasi-co-location information between reference signals; Quasi-co-location information between channels; and, Positioning information. The method according to any one of claims 51 to 54, wherein The second cell is indicated by the network device through third indication information; The third indication information includes: the frequency point and/or cell identifier of the second cell. The method according to claim 57, wherein The third indication information is configured under the first condition. The method according to any one of claims 51 to 58, wherein The first cell and the second cell belong to the same timing advance group and/or cell group. The method according to claim 59, wherein The timing advance group and/or the cell group is determined by the network device based on second information, where the second information includes at least one of the following: Measurement results of reference signals; Location information; Movement trajectory information of the terminal device; location information of the network device; Location information of network devices adjacent to the network device; The location information of a third cell included in the network device, where the third cell is the cell where the terminal device is located; location information of cells adjacent to the third cell; Co-location information between various network devices; and, Co-site information between cells. The method according to any one of claims 51 to 60, wherein The second cell is activated by the terminal device instructed by the network device; or, The second cell is activated by the terminal device under a second condition. The method of claim 61, wherein the second condition comprises at least one of the following: A deactivation timer of the second cell times out; The deactivation timer of the second cell needs to be started; The deactivation timer of the second cell needs to be restarted; Acquire indication information used to indicate the second cell; acquiring a reference signal of the second cell; performing uplink synchronization or downlink synchronization with the first cell; Acquire the configuration of the first cell; The first cell is activated; and, The first cell needs to be activated. A communication method, applied to a terminal device, comprising: Receive a first media access control control unit MAC CE from a network device, where the first MAC CE is used to indicate a reporting method of a first CSI report with a sub-reporting configuration. The method of claim 63, wherein: The first MAC CE includes indications or positions of multiple sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the first CSI report. When the indication or position of any sub-reporting configuration is set to activated, the first MAC CE instructs the terminal device to report the first CSI report. The method of claim 64, wherein: In a case where the first MAC CE instructs the terminal device to report the first CSI report, among the indications or positions of multiple sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the first CSI report, the number of indications or positions of sub-reporting configurations set to be activated is greater than 1. The method according to claim 64 or 65, wherein For each sub-reporting configuration of the multiple sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the first CSI report, when the indication or position of the sub-reporting configuration is set to activated, the first MAC CE is also used to instruct the terminal device to report the sub-reporting report corresponding to the sub-reporting configuration in the first CSI report. A method according to any one of claims 63 to 66, wherein The first MAC CE is also used to indicate the reporting method of the second CSI report without sub-reporting configuration. The method according to claim 67, wherein The first MAC CE includes indications or positions of multiple sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the second CSI report. When the indications or positions of any one of the sub-reporting configurations are set to be activated, the first MAC CE instructs the terminal device to report the second CSI report. The method according to claim 68, wherein In the case where the first MAC CE instructs the terminal device to report the second CSI report, among the indications or positions of multiple sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the second CSI report, the number of indications or positions of sub-reporting configurations set to be activated is 1. A method according to any one of claims 67 to 69, wherein The length of the first MAC CE is fixed. A method according to any one of claims 63 to 66, wherein The first MAC CE is not used to indicate the reporting method of the second CSI report without sub-reporting configuration. The method according to claim 71, wherein The second CSI report is indicated by a second MAC CE. The method according to claim 71 or 72, wherein: The length of the first MAC CE is fixed or variable. A communication method, applied to a network device, comprising: A first media access control control unit MAC CE is sent to the terminal device, where the first MAC CE is used to indicate a reporting method of a first CSI report with a sub-reporting configuration. The method of claim 74, wherein: The first MAC CE includes indications or positions of multiple sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the first CSI report. When the indication or position of any sub-reporting configuration is set to activated, the first MAC CE instructs the terminal device to report the first CSI report. The method of claim 75, wherein: In a case where the first MAC CE instructs the terminal device to report the first CSI report, among the indications or positions of multiple sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the first CSI report, the number of indications or positions of sub-reporting configurations set to be activated is greater than 1. The method according to claim 74 or 75, wherein For each sub-reporting configuration of the multiple sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the first CSI report, when the indication or position of the sub-reporting configuration is set to activated, the first MAC CE is also used to instruct the terminal device to report the sub-reporting report corresponding to the sub-reporting configuration in the first CSI report. A method according to any one of claims 74 to 77, wherein The first MAC CE is also used to indicate the reporting method of the second CSI report without sub-reporting configuration. The method according to claim 78, wherein The first MAC CE includes indications or positions of multiple sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the second CSI report. When the indications or positions of any one of the sub-reporting configurations are set to be activated, the first MAC CE instructs the terminal device to report the second CSI report. The method of claim 79, wherein: In the case where the first MAC CE instructs the terminal device to report the second CSI report, among the indications or positions of multiple sub-reporting configurations corresponding to the second CSI report, the number of indications or positions of sub-reporting configurations set to be activated is 1. The method according to any one of claims 78 to 80, wherein The length of the first MAC CE is fixed. A method according to any one of claims 74 to 77, wherein The first MAC CE is not used to indicate the reporting method of the second CSI report without sub-reporting configuration. The method according to claim 82, wherein The second CSI report is indicated by a second MAC CE. The method according to claim 82 or 83, wherein The length of the first MAC CE is fixed or variable. A communication method, applied to a terminal device, comprising: Receiving fifth indication information from the network device; wherein the fifth indication information is used to indicate the first operation; or, the fifth indication information is used to indicate the first operation when the third condition is met; The first operation includes at least one of the following: The source cell of the terminal device enters the network energy saving NES; The terminal device performs conditional handover CHO; The terminal device starts to execute CHO; and, The terminal device evaluates the execution condition of CHO. [Corrected 16.11.2023 in accordance with Article 91]
The method according to claim 85, characterized in that, when the fifth indication information is used to indicate the first operation, the method further comprises: Based on the fifth indication information, executing CHO; or, Based on the fifth indication information, start executing CHO; or, Based on the fifth indication information, evaluating the execution condition of CHO; or, Determine that the candidate target cell meets the CHO switching condition; or, When the first CHO event is satisfied, determining that the candidate target cell satisfies the CHO switching condition; or, When the first CHO event is satisfied, determining that the CHO execution condition is satisfied; or, In the case where the first CHO event is satisfied, determining that the CHO event is satisfied; or, When the first CHO event is satisfied, it is determined that the candidate target cell is a triggered cell. The method according to claim 85 or 86, characterized in that, when the fifth indication information is used to indicate the first operation, the method further comprises: During the first time period, the terminal device does not expect to receive new fifth indication information; or, Within the first time period, the terminal device does not expect to receive new fifth indication information that does not meet the third condition; or, Within the first time period, when the terminal device receives new fifth indication information, ignore the new fifth indication information; or, Within the first time period, when the terminal device receives new fifth indication information that does not meet the third condition, it ignores the new fifth indication information. The method according to claim 87, characterized in that The starting time of the first duration is the time when the terminal device receives the fifth indication information; or, The starting time of the first duration is the time when the terminal device receives the fifth indication information that meets the third condition; or, The starting time of the first duration is the result of adding the time when the terminal device receives the fifth indication information to the first offset; or, The starting time of the first duration is the result of adding the time when the terminal device receives the fifth indication information that meets the third condition to the first offset. The method according to claim 87 or 88, characterized in that The first duration is predefined, preconfigured, configured by the network device, configured based on radio resource control, or included in the fifth indication information; The first offset is predefined, preconfigured, configured by the network device, configured based on radio resource control, or included in the fifth indication information. The method according to any one of claims 85 to 89, characterized in that the method further comprises: When the terminal device receives new fifth indication information, or when the terminal device receives new fifth indication information that does not meet the third condition, a second operation is performed, where the second operation includes at least one of the following: Stop executing CHO; Stop CHO assessment; Delete CHO configuration; Instructing the network device to stop CHO; Instructing the network device to stop switching; Determining that the candidate target cell does not meet the CHO switching condition; Determining that the CHO execution conditions are not met; Determine that the CHO event is not satisfied; determining that the candidate target cell is not a triggered cell; and, It is determined that the source cell leaves the NES. The method according to any one of claims 85 to 89, characterized in that after the first duration, the method further comprises: When the terminal device receives new fifth indication information, or when the terminal device receives new fifth indication information that does not meet the third condition, a second operation is performed, where the second operation includes at least one of the following: Stop executing CHO; Stop CHO assessment; Delete CHO configuration; Instructing the network device to stop CHO; Instructing the network device to stop switching; Determining that the candidate target cell does not meet the CHO switching condition; Determining that the CHO execution conditions are not met; Determine that the CHO event is not satisfied; determining that the candidate target cell is not a triggered cell; and, It is determined that the source cell leaves the NES. The method according to any one of claims 87 to 91, characterized in that The new fifth indication information is used to indicate the third operation, or the new fifth indication information is used to indicate the third operation when the third condition is not met; The third operation includes at least one of the following: The source cell of the terminal device leaves the NES; Stop executing CHO; Determining that the candidate target cell does not meet the CHO switching condition; Determining that the CHO execution conditions are not met; Determine that the CHO event is not satisfied; Determine that the CHO execution condition is not available; determining that the candidate target cell is not a triggered cell; and, CHO evaluation was stopped. The method according to any one of claims 85 to 92, characterized in that The third condition includes: the first bit in the fifth indication information is set to a specific value. A communication method, applied to a network device, comprising: Sending fifth indication information to the terminal device; wherein the fifth indication information is used to indicate the first operation; or, the fifth indication information is used to indicate the first operation when the third condition is met; The first operation includes at least one of the following: The source cell of the terminal device enters the network energy saving NES; The terminal device performs conditional handover CHO; The terminal device starts to execute CHO; and The terminal device evaluates the execution condition of CHO. The method according to claim 94, characterized in that the method further comprises: Sending new fifth indication information to the terminal device, where the new fifth indication information is used to indicate a third operation, or, when the third condition is not met, the new fifth indication information is used to indicate the third operation; The third operation includes at least one of the following: The source cell of the terminal device leaves the NES; Stop executing CHO; Determining that the candidate target cell does not meet the CHO switching condition; Determining that the CHO execution conditions are not met; Determine that the CHO event is not satisfied; Determine that the CHO execution condition is not available; determining that the candidate target cell is not a triggered cell; and, CHO evaluation was stopped. The method according to claim 94 or 95, characterized in that The third condition includes: the first bit in the fifth indication information is set to a specific value. A communication device, the device comprising: A first acquisition unit is configured to acquire a first timing advance TA between the device and a first cell, where the first TA is used for the device to perform uplink synchronization with the first cell; The first cell is a secondary cell without synchronization signal block transmission. A communication device, the device comprising: A first sending unit is configured to send fourth indication information to a terminal device, where the fourth indication information includes a first timing advance TA between the terminal device and a first cell, and/or a second TA between the terminal device and a second cell, where the second cell is a cell used for the terminal device to perform uplink synchronization with the first cell; the second TA is used to determine the first TA, and the first TA is used for the terminal device to perform uplink synchronization with the first cell; The first cell is a secondary cell without synchronization signal block transmission. A communication device, the device comprising: A first receiving unit is configured to receive a reference signal of a second cell or a downlink data signal of a first cell, wherein the reference signal or the downlink data signal is used for the apparatus to perform downlink synchronization or downlink timing with the first cell; The second cell is a cell used for the device to perform downlink synchronization or downlink timing with the first cell, and the first cell is a secondary cell without synchronization signal block transmission. A communication device, the device comprising: A second sending unit is configured to send a reference signal of a second cell or a downlink data signal of a first cell to a terminal device, wherein the reference signal or the downlink data signal is used for the terminal device to perform downlink synchronization or downlink timing with the first cell; The second cell is a cell used for the terminal device to perform downlink synchronization or downlink timing with the first cell, and the first cell is a secondary cell without synchronization signal block transmission. A communication device, the device comprising: The second receiving unit is configured to receive a first media access control control unit MAC CE from a network device, wherein the first MAC CE is used to indicate a reporting method of a first SCI report with a sub-configuration. A communication device, the device comprising: The third sending unit is configured to send a first media access control control unit MAC CE to the terminal device, and the first MAC CE is used to indicate a reporting method of a first SCI report with a sub-configuration. A communication device, the device comprising: a third receiving unit, configured to receive fifth indication information from the network device; wherein the fifth indication information is used to indicate the first operation; or, the fifth indication information is used to indicate the first operation when the first condition is met; The first operation includes at least one of the following: The source cell of the device enters the network energy saving NES; The device performs conditional switching CHO; The device begins to perform CHO; and, The device evaluates the execution condition of CHO. A communication device, the device comprising: a fourth sending unit, configured to send fifth indication information to the terminal device; wherein the fifth indication information is used to indicate the first operation; or, the fifth indication information is used to indicate the first operation when the first condition is met; The first operation includes at least one of the following: The source cell of the terminal device enters the network energy saving NES; The terminal device executes or starts to execute conditional handover CHO; and The terminal device evaluates the execution condition of CHO. A communication device, comprising: A memory for storing computer executable instructions; A processor, connected to the memory, for implementing the method of any one of claims 1 to 22, or the method of any one of claims 23 to 38, or the method of any one of claims 39 to 50, or the method of any one of claims 51 to 62, or the method of any one of claims 63 to 73, or the method of any one of claims 74 to 84, or the method of any one of claims 85 to 93, or the method of any one of claims 94 to 96 by executing the computer-executable instructions. A chip, comprising: A processor, used to call and run a computer program from a memory so that a device equipped with the chip executes a method as described in any one of claims 1 to 22, or executes a method as described in any one of claims 23 to 38, or executes a method as described in any one of claims 39 to 50, or executes a method as described in any one of claims 51 to 62, or executes a method as described in any one of claims 63 to 73, or executes a method as described in any one of claims 74 to 84, or executes a method as described in any one of claims 85 to 93, or executes a method as described in any one of claims 94 to 96. A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, wherein the computer program, when executed by at least one processor, implements the method of any one of claims 1 to 22, or implements the method of any one of claims 23 to 38, or implements the method of any one of claims 39 to 50, or implements the method of any one of claims 51 to 62, or implements the method of any one of claims 63 to 73, or implements the method of any one of claims 74 to 84, or implements the method of any one of claims 85 to 93, or implements the method of any one of claims 94 to 96.